


Nuclear Family

by 126916912



Series: Deleted 1213659/126916912 Works [6]
Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Aliens, Gen, Getting Together, M/M, Roommates, domestic AU, shape-shifting, surrogate parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-27 09:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30120759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/126916912/pseuds/126916912
Relationships: Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae/Lee Sangyeon
Series: Deleted 1213659/126916912 Works [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2216154





	1. Prologue

Sangyeon finds out that Jaehyun doesn't actually like painting in the most obvious of ways. He would have been a total idiot not to connect the dots. A set of brushes being punted at one's head would also make the truth abundantly clear. 

Or maybe Jaehyun actually just hates Sangyeon because that is what he yells whilst drop-kicking more painting supplies at Sangyeon. 

"You painted a picture of me," Sangyeon points out through the shield of his arms. "Are you saying I'm not allowed to look at a picture of myself?" 

In truth what Sangyeon did was more than just look. He was searching through Jaehyun's things because he was sure Jaehyun had stolen back the USB cord he had secretly stolen from Jaehyun way back when he moved in. Instead of Jaehyun’s reclaimed wire, Sangyeon found some rough sketches. And then a painting. It was detailed enough for Sangyeon to recognise it as himself and it was weird. So Sangyeon went to confront Jaehyun about the painting but had gesticulated wildly enough for the small canvas to fly right out of the window. 

Sangyeon could probably fix things easily. During a respite in the arsenal of projectiles, Sangyeon sees the opportunity to go outside and retrieve the canvas from the walkway outside the flat. He'd need to dust it off but afterwards it would be good as new. But the pause in being target practice is courtesy of Jaehyun’s turn to talk. 

"That painting has nothing to do with you. It was just a project for my painting class," Jaehyun says with succinct precision. 

"But it is me. Why would you do something that involves looking at my face for so long and then complain when I am asking why you did it?" 

Jaehyun exhales tersely and glowers across the living room (technically Sangyeon’s old room before the big bedroom was vacated by Jacob earlier this week). His hands tighten into fists and this only winds the line of his shoulders more taut. "Who else was I supposed to paint?" 

"Literally anyone else in the world," Sangyeon suggests. "The internet exists. Just find pictures of some random hot person to stalk. Better yet, go and paint something like that for Jacob so you can impress him and make him fall in love with you."

"I don't-" Jaehyun stops himself from saying anything further. But he doesn't ease himself out of being so wound up in the gap where words should go. When lightning flashes through the window it tightens the set of Jaehyun’s jaw. "Go and get my painting before it is ruined by the rain."

The clap of thunder which follows the lightning makes Sangyeon flinch. The storm wasn't in the weather forecast yet the thunder sounded loud enough to have come from inside their flat. But it isn't raining, at least not in here, so he retreats to the door and watches to ensure nothing else comes flying at him. 

Clearly Sangyeon was looking the wrong way. Whatever Sangyeon should have been looking out for bursts through the front door and knocks him right off his feet. 

"Are you alright?" Jaehyun asks. 

Sangyeon isn't sure he is but he also can't say either way. The only thing he is certain of is the pill-shaped capsule that knocked him off his feet. Bruises forming across Sangyeon’s chest make sitting up difficult but he's just as curious about the white cylinder as Jaehyun is. 

"You're not going to die or anything, are you?" Jaehyun mumbles as he prods at the capsule. Sangyeon sags back against the doorframe, a cough beating itself out of his chest, rattling the tenderness of his ribs, when he tries to speak. Jaehyun frowns and rolls the capsule inside even though it could be anything. "We should get you checked out."

Sangyeon wants to say that he's fine but a raw wheeze is all that makes its way out of his mouth. 

"Can you get up? Can you move with my help? Because I'm sort of relying on you not dying so that I can afford to keep paying the rent."

Sangyeon wants to laugh as much as Jaehyun wants to hear a laugh but the impact winded him too much to allow anything like that. He can just about get up with Jaehyun's arm supporting him and maybe getting checked out at a clinic is for the best. 

Jaehyun retrieves his painting and chucks it back into the flat before helping Sangyeon hobble to his car. 

Sangyeon wonders, for just a moment, what it was that burst through the front door and knocked him down under the guise of a storm, but it is easier to make something up until they know. Jaehyun scowls but agrees to take the blame seeing as they were rowing anyway. 


	2. Dinner Party

It hasn't been very long at all since Jacob left. Maybe a month and a half has passed but Sangyeon stopped counting when he had three extra responsibilities to focus on. Too many things have changed and Sangyeon can't gesture widely enough with the one arm he is trying to free from his current predicament for Jaehyun to see him and give the right answer to the person on the other end of the phoneline. 

"So you'll be over tomorrow night? At seven?" Jaehyun asks. 

"No, you moron!" Sangyeon hisses whilsts struggling to maintain his grip on the smallest spherical baby - baby-what, Sangyeon can't be certain. He and Jaehyun have been researching since the kids arrived and have so far only managed to decide they're some sort of extra-terrestrial race. Which is why Jaehyun so easily inviting someone over is absurd. 

"I can't wait. See you tomorrow." 

Jaehyun hangs up the phone after too many 'bye's and this is the chance for Sangyeon to kill his reluctant roommate and make things right. 

"Who are you going to see tomorrow?" Sangyeon asks as he whacks Jaehyun's shoulder. Jaehyun has no qualms about hitting Sangyeon back which is just criminal. "I'm holding one of our babies, you dick."

Jaehyun scoops the black cat (the new preferred form of one of their babies which came as a surprise upon the first appearance and has become something that seems to have always been the case even when the baby returns to being a silvery round baby) into his arms and levels a glare at Sangyeon. "Me too. Will you hit me again?" 

Jaehyun deserves it even if he is holding one of their children. 

"You just invited someone over to dinner at our place which is packed with aliens. Are we just going to introduce Jacob to our babies and expect him to ignore how strange it is?" 

Jaehyun looks half a breath from tearing his hair out. "What do I do? I couldn't say no to him. He's Jacob. He used to live here. I can't refuse him entry to his own house. He'll just have to deal with the fact that we have children who we struggle to raise together."

Jaehyun is right. It has been a struggle raising their children, mostly because they do not agree on some pretty big parenting areas. Is it a good idea to let the kids sleep in their beds with them? Should they feed the kids people food or cat food? Should they give their babies pet names or people names? Should they take turns waking up in the night to check on the babies? Sangyeon will admit he is the one who refused to wake up during the night but Jaehyun has dutifully bashed a pot with a ladle twice a night to ensure Sangyeon takes his turn. 

"What are we going to do?" Sangyeon asks the blubbery pink blob in his arms. "I love you so much but I can't let Jacob see you. He's a proper person with a job and commonsense and might even call the police and get you sent to a government agency."

Jaehyun shuffles forward and presses a kiss between the probable eyes of their smallest child. 

"We'll hide you from our friends and protect you. You'll just have to sleep on Sangyeon’s bed and we will sneak you some food," Jaehyun says solemnly. Which is great aside from the fact that he has volunteered Sangyeon’s bed without asking. 

"Why can't they hide on your bed?" 

"Because my mom bought me some really fancy bedsheets and I want to be able to impress people. I can't do that if our children do that gross gunge thing again."

Jaehyun is right but that only irritates Sangyeon more. They had decided that 'the gunge thing' was a sneeze as it sounded like one and had happened after Sangyeon was nosing around on top of Jaehyun’s wardrobe for spare blankets. It was a terrible storage solution and the layer of dust which had accumulated on the blankets had Sangyeon sneezing for several minutes. And then their stroppy, sepia middle child joined in. Except their babies (at least in the forms they arrived in and not the mammalian imitations the two larger children like to turn into) don't have noses. Or any visible orifices to sneeze out of. 

The gross gunge seemed to have been a skin secretion and left trails of slime as their still sneezing baby bounced around the flat. It isn't fair to keep all of that confined to Sangyeon’s room. 

"They can sneeze in your room. You're the one inviting people here to ruin our lives," Sangyeon says seriously. 

Jaehyun drops the baby who sometimes likes to look like a cat and tugs at his hair. "What do I do? What did I do?" 

Sangyeon looks down at their youngest child solemnly. "This is why you shouldn't fall in love with your roommate. He'll just leave you to move in with his friend and every time he calls you'll invite him over to ruin your life."

"Shut up," Jaehyun grumbles. But Sangyeon is right. 

+

Jaehyun is kneeling beside Sangyeon on Sangyeon’s bed and his expression is extremely serious as he looks at the trio of their spherical babies nestled amongst the pillows. 

Someone was more convincing than they needed to be so Sangyeon ended up agreeing to hide the babies in his room. But the plan wouldn't work without cooperation. 

"We both love you all very much," Sangyeon tells their bouncy babies. "Because we love you we want you to be safe. So you have to hide in here until Jacob and his friend leave, okay?" 

The kids blink up at Sangyeon slowly but no other awareness passes over their expressions. Sangyeon is dubious of the fact that the kids can even understand what he and Jaehyun say but they react in what seems to be a pleasant manner to praise and they have slowly learnt not to bounce from the bed right onto Sangyeon’s laptop (of course this was also a learning curve for Sangyeon and he has learnt not to leave his laptop on the floor beside his bed).

"Let me try," Jaehyun says as he elbows Sangyeon aside and shuffles forward on his knees. "You can't make noise today. If you're really good we'll buy you… Oh my gosh. What kind of parents are we? We don't even know what our own children want as rewards." 

"They're aliens," Sangyeon points out. "We wouldn't even be able to comprehend what they think of as treats."

"'We wouldn't comprehend'," Jaehyun mimics before rolling his eyes. "They're earthlings now. We've adopted them so they can have our citizenship. They have to like something we have to offer." Jaehyun leans closer to the three kids and the silvery blob wriggles right up against Jaehyun's cheek. Jaehyun practically giggles in response and is pink with pleasure as he sits upright. When his eyes meet Sangyeon’s he clears his throat and pretends to be serious. "I love you too. I am trusting you to look after the other two and keep them quiet. You two should listen to the eldest. Be good for us. I promise we won't be long." 

Even if Jaehyun can sound so certain when addressing the babies, Sangyeon is nervous. This is worse than the first time he had to go to work after the kids crashed into their front door. That was something more like separation anxiety but it resolved itself after he and Jaehyun worked out a provisional schedule to ensure the kids weren't ever left alone for too long. 

Nobody can come nosing around the flat to find the source of suspicious noises and even the landlord must give 24 hours notice before entering the property. But this dinner with Jacob is different. Jacob used to live here so he knows all the quirks and qualms of the flat and there won't be anywhere to hide if he goes in search of anything out of the ordinary. Even Sangyeon still thinks of his room as Jacob's a month into finally being promoted from sofa surfer to bona-fide roommate. It is a difficult thing inviting Jacob inside where the boundaries and rules can't quite be set. 

Jacob is as friendly as ever when he is let in and he introduces Sangyeon to Kevin, the guy he moved in with because he couldn't let a friend struggle finding someone to split rent with. 

Jaehyun's expression is static as he makes small-talk and Sangyeon wonders what it is like to have liked someone for so long and had to accept the fact they were choosing someone else so bluntly. If Sangyeon was in Jaehyun's position he would have quit the evening painting classes taught by Jacob's new roommate (and maybe more) to at least avoid the person who bested him at this. 

But instead of anything as sensible as that they're all sitting around the dinner table and discussing the painting class. 

"I still can't believe it turned out that we all know each other in such interesting ways," Jacob says. "I was really surprised when I heard that Kevin was the teacher for Jaehyun's evening painting classes. It is like fate that we have connections like this."

Jaehyun laughs drily. "Yes. I was surprised too."

"I've heard that your paintings are quite good. You told me you couldn't even draw stick figures."

Sangyeon splutters on his sip of water and tries to work out where this is going. Sangyeon was surprised too when he found out that Jaehyun was able to recreate the likeness of certain things, and he recalls that he hadn't reacted well to the way he'd found out. But he isn't sure why Jacob is bringing it up now. 

Kevin is smiling awkwardly, mouth stiffened and square as he refrained from contributing anything to this particular conversation. Sangyeon had seen the way Kevin had looked at him at their first introduction. It was recognition at its barest level. It was also an indication that Jaehyun's plan had failed. Kevin might really not have mentioned the excess of pictures Jaehyun had painted of one particular person. So Jaehyun could hardly pretend to be over Jacob when his pretence of replacing the affection with fondness for another hadn't even been noticed. 

But Kevin has no choice but to speak when Jacob repeats his amazement at Jaehyun's skill, voice soft and fishing for reinforcement. And Sangyeon gets it. Denying Jacob something like that is pointless. 

"Jaehyun definitely has a good eye," Kevin says, perhaps tending more towards politeness than genuine praise. His eyes skirt awkwardly around Sangyeon. It would be great to be able to tell Kevin that there's no big secret here - or that the secret he thinks he must keep isn't the one that exists - but he is conscious of how much Jacob should know. 

"Jaehyun is really talented," Sangyeon says as sincerely as he can. Jaehyun mutters something dismissive in the space before Jacob or Kevin can think up something to say. "He's worked really hard on his assignments between the evening classes too."

"Alright," Jaehyun grumbles, "You can stop now."

"But Jacob is the only one who hasn't seen for himself how good your art is. How will he know unless we explain it? Unless you're thinking of showing Jacob all of your drawings?" 

"You're a really funny guy," Jaehyun says through gritted teeth. "You're hilarious, you know that?" 

"Sometimes art isn't always made to be shown off," Kevin says, quickly and brightly with a smile that doesn't quite mask the uncertainty. He clasps his hands together, desperation caught in the air in front of him. "Sometimes art is something private. Like, maybe Jaehyun's art is something special to share with select people."

Kevin makes a nervous sound that isn't quite a laugh and Sangyeon hopes that somebody will put him out of his misery soon. Of course the next most miserable person is Jaehyun who feels responsible enough to drag Sangyeon away from the table and into the kitchen with the excuse that he can smell burning. 

"Say it," Jaehyun grumbles as he reaches into one of the high cabinets for plates. 

"Say what?" 

Jaehyun makes an impatient sound at the back of his throat. "Say whatever you couldn't in front of our guests. Something about how I should be ashamed of myself."

Sangyeon takes the plates from Jaehyun. "We've all been there. But you're the one who invited Jacob here so you can live with the consequences of what you did."

"There it is," Jaehyun says, reluctantly vindicated. "I might have to drop out of my evening painting classes though. Kevin was going on like my life was at stake. He's probably right. And now he thinks I'm in love with you or something ridiculous."

Sangyeon hopes Jaehyun won't drop out of the painting classes. If anything he likes the guarantee of some extra time alone. But he won't admit that too easily. Instead he picks the thing he is supposed to say as he finds the oven gloves to pass to Jaehyun. 

"I still don't understand your reasoning with your weird plan to paint pictures of me. Like what is supposed to come between that and your endgame with Jacob?" 

Jaehyun is quiet for a moment as he puts the oven gloves over his hands. It is when he has begun clattering around with opening the oven door to remove the baking tray that Jaehyun bothers to speak. "Kevin is supposed to think that I am into you so it seems innocent when I start taking Jacob out on stealth dates. I had this idea to have Kevin help me to convince Jacob to come on a weekend away with me, because Kevin will think I am just testing it out to make sure it is good enough to take you there, and then that's when I reveal my intentions to Jacob and admit that it has been him that my heart has longed for all this time. I have already been to the little mountain resort before so I know how perfect and romantic it will be."

"That's… A terrible plan," Sangyeon says. "I thought you would have come up with something really sophisticated. If I were you I would have just painted pictures of Jacob in the first place and given him the best one as a present. And then I would have just told Jacob that he's built like some sort of god and I would do anything to be with him."

Jaehyun chucks the baking tray on the counter. "Do you love him? Is this your way of telling me you're competition?"

Sangyeon sighs. "I'm just saying, there's a better way to go about what you're doing, Jaehyun. But instead you're choosing the stupidest way and then you'll have to work out how to explain the kids to him too."

Jaehyun looks thoughtful for a moment. "Do you think I should just let Kevin have him? I don't think it is possible to explain the kids to him."

"There's still hope," Sangyeon says as encouragingly as he can. 

Sangyeon genuinely believes there is still hope because Jacob and Jaehyun have their own language when communicating; touches and smiles and minute gestures which are enough for Sangyeon to be fooled into thinking there is something there. 

They eat and Jacob is full of praise and Jaehyun can barely take his eyes off moments as simple as Jacob breathing. Sangyeon feels bad for watching and tries to pretend he doesn't notice seeing anything so hopeless. 

Whilst distracting himself, Sangyeon learns a lot about Kevin. There is seemingly nothing Kevin hasn't mastered, or at least successfully attempted, and he sounds so eager to share his knowledge. Sangyeon doesn't exactly want to overstep any boundaries but it would be nice to get to know Kevin better - outside of this flat so he couldn't accidentally discover any aliens lurking about. 

Of course the whole risk of someone discovering the kids is a factor that should have been more prominent in Sangyeon’s mind even as they move from the dining table to the living room. Two people is already too many to have to keep an eye on whilst Jaehyun is in the kitchen stacking the plates in the sink for later. But Sangyeon wouldn't have thought he had anything to worry about whilst listening to Kevin explain the stratified brilliance of the Labelle version of Lady Marmalade. 

"I think I left a bunch of strings in my old room," Jacob says from outside the ajar door. Sangyeon can't breathe. He rushes out of the living room to see Jacob's hand close around the handle on his bedroom door and everything is so close to falling apart. 

"You can't go in there!" Sangyeon yells. 

Jacob flinches and snatches his hand away from the handle. But he twists to look over his shoulder at Sangyeon with a wry expression. 

"Sorry. I should have asked first. Can I just pop in here to find my guitar strings?" 

"No."

Jacob turns all the way to look at Sangyeon and his smile is receding. "Is there something you don't want me to see? You're not usually like this." 

There is something that Sangyeon doesn't want Jacob to see - three of them, in fact - but saying so might just be more revealing than desired. 

Jaehyun strides into the short corridor from the kitchen and his eyes boggle when he sees how close Jacob is to entering Sangyeon's room. 

"You can't go in there," Jaehyun says. 

"Wow. It must be really serious if you're both like this," Jacob says cautiously. "What's the big secret?" 

This seems like a massive test all of a sudden. Sangyeon is waiting for Jaehyun to ruin everything just because he is still so desperate to tell Jacob what he wants to hear. He holds his breath and prepared himself for a life sentence in prison for killing everyone in the flat just to protect his children. 

And then there is the mortified peal of whatever Jaehyun thinks is appropriate to say. 

"We're sleeping together. We always do it in Sangyeon’s room. This morning we couldn't take our hands off each other and we had really messy and wild sex this morning and didn't have time to clean up properly." 

Jacob tempers his expression and smiles at Jaehyun. "I want to say that is too much information, but I am happy for you both. You've always had this weird energy together but I am glad things turned out like this."

Sangyeon wants to bash his head against the wall. He wonders what it would be like to drive his own head through a brick wall. Maybe he'd be able to forget all about this conversation. 

It isn't likely though. Wishing for things like that rarely works out. 

"Let's talk about something different," Sangyeon suggests as he points in the direction of the living room. "Go and sit down. I will see if I can find your guitar strings."

Sangyeon drags Jaehyun into his bedroom to help him to 'search' and slams the door behind them for good measure. At least Jaehyun has the decency to look like he is regretting every moment of his life. 

"What would we have needed to clean up?" Sangyeon asks. "Why are you making Jacob think weird things about us?" 

Jaehyun blinks and the glimmer is back, the one that makes Sangyeon regret having ears to hear the things coming out of Jaehyun’s mouth 

With a casual gesture towards himself, Jaehyun says, "Look at me. I'm drop dead gorgeous. I'm surprised you're not jizzing everywhere right now at the sight of me." 

"Drop dead sounds about-" Sangyeon pauses midway through his thought and then looks around for the kids. One of the kids is yawning and shuffling towards the edge of the bed. "Don't listen to him, babies. He is saying bad things and you can't say anything like that."

Sangyeon shoves Jaehyun into the door for subjecting their innocent children to such blue language. 

"Shut the fuck up, Jaehyun, you're going to upset our kids."

"How about you shut the fuck up," Jaehyun, the genius, suggests. He remains against the door as Sangyeon checks over the kids. 

None of the kids appear to be too bothered by the disturbance, and they're hopping cheerily towards Sangyeon like they're uncorrupted and happy to see him. Sangyeon would love the kids to be happy to see him so he isn't about to question it when he sits on the edge of the bed and three of them crowd onto his lap as best they can. 

"You're behaving so well. I bet nobody will be able to find out about you and take you away from us."

The burnt orange baby chirps and Sangyeon slaps a hand over his own mouth before realising that wouldn't stop the stream of sound. Sangyeon covers up the tiny mouth of their middle child but it doesn't do much when the bright rose baby joins in. 

Jaehyun strolls across the room and picks up the miniature globe who is having fun singing. Jaehyun looks the baby right in the eyes with an almost stern expression. "Why are you making a racket like this? Do you want us to get in trouble? If you make too much noise you'll get taken away from us and scary people will lock you up and do awful things to you."

The baby stops chirping and even the one who started it stifles the noise that Sangyeon’s had attempted to muffle. Jaehyun cradles the baby in his arms close to his chest and his voice is softer than Sangyeon has ever heard it when he says, "We love you, alright? You can make as much noise as you want when our friends are gone but until then just be careful."

None of the children make a noise and Sangyeon thinks things might be alright. They can manage this much. 

Sangyeon actually recalls seeing a plastic wallet of guitar strings in the room and finds them on the windowsill before pulling Jaehyun out of the bedroom and back to their company. He'd feel far more accomplished about it if Jacob or Kevin could manage to make eye contact with him. 

The next hour is unsurprisingly awkward until Jacob manages to find an excuse that Jaehyun accepts so that they can leave. 

Not a second after the front door has closed behind the guests, Sangyeon points out, "They one hundred percent thought we excused ourselves for a quickie."

Jaehyun ponders that for a moment before rolling into a heap on the floor and letting the newly freed babies bounce into the living room and crush him.


	3. Lost Kids

Sangyeon is in charge of all of the children whilst Jaehyun is out at his night class. He supposes he should consider time like this peaceful. He is the only human at home and he can do whatever he likes until Jaehyun returns at quarter past eight. 

But Sangyeon doesn't know what to do with his spare time and the kids are no help whatsoever. 

"What do you do for fun?" Sangyeon asks Sunwoo. 

Sunwoo gets his name from the awful child who Sangyeon has had the misfortune to encounter way too many times. Being kicked in the shin by a demonic child whilst trying to do a good job at the salon where he made up hours for his hairdressing course was one thing, but working on the chicken restaurant and watching that same child steal other people's buckets of chicken to tip onto the floor was a far worse experience. Sangyeon never forgot the name and he thinks his own Sunwoo is much more deserving of the name. 

Sunwoo is playful - sometimes in the bad way when Sangyeon returns home and finds their rubbish and recycling bins upturned and Sunwoo rifling through everything Sangyeon has tried to get rid of - and Sangyeon loves him. Even though Sunwoo is a grubby little racoon, Sangyeon loves him. 

Sangyeon holds out his index finger and Sunwoo reaches out with his tiny claws and pinches him too tight. "I love you, cutie."

A small mewling alerts Sangyeon to one of the other children. Hwall is a sleek and graceful kitty. Sangyeon loves him too, though he isn't sure what Jaehyun's inspiration for the name was, the name unexpectedly suits him. 

"You woke up? Are you hungry?" Sangyeon asks.

Hwall doesn't answer either way. Sangyeon supposes the problem is that even if the kids can transform, they don't transform into anything that answers back. 

Hwall sits on the sofa beside Sunwoo. They're both so cute. Sangyeon could weep.

The television is making its way through a boxset of a drama Jaehyun claimed to be desperate to watch but Sangyeon can't see what all the fuss is about. He scratches behind Hwall's ears and teases the kids with the cords threaded through his hoodie and the small sounds of irritation when the chewy aglets are yanked just out of reach make far better entertainment than the overfraught drama on the telly. 

Hwall mewls and paws quickly at Sangyeon’s chest. It doesn't take much more than that for Sangyeon to fuss him with his free arm. Parenting seems so easy when Sangyeon is keeping a snoozing racoon safe in one arm whilst playing with an inquisitive cat with the other. 

This is Sangyeon’s first evening alone in a while. He doesn't have any assignments due for his hairdressing course so he doesn't have the ordeal of trying to get the kids to leave him alone so he can concentrate, and he already decided that they can eat leftovers for dinner so there is no reason to bother himself with cooking. He knows there is a pile of clean washing in his room that the kids have been using as a trampoline but he isn't quite bored enough to think about refolding it all just yet. Beyond playing with the kids, Sangyeon doesn't know what to do with himself. 

Hwall has another spurt of energy, and Sangyeon supposes the kids can sense his restlessness, but an entire minute doesn't get the chance to pass before Sangyeon feels something damp and something sharp at his wrist. Sangyeon withdraws his arm from cradling Sunwoo and unfortunately the auburn racoon follows the movement. 

"Were you pretending to sleep?" Sangyeon groans. He swats at Sunwoo and manages to pull his frayed sleeve free of Sunwoo's teeth and claws. "You're being naughty. This is one of my favourite hoodies. Are you going to buy me a new one?" 

Sunwoo obviously doesn't say anything. Sangyeon frowns at Hwall. "And you, did you know what he was doing? Did you distract me on purpose?"

Hwall meows but Sangyeon has no idea if that is a reply in the affirmative or negative. 

"You're both bad boys. Do you think I want your spit all over me? You're aliens; what if your spit dissolves me and I die? You'll just be stuck with Jaehyun, is that what you want?" 

The kids say nothing intelligible, of course. 

"Very naughty. For that you can go right to bed."

The kids don't protest but Sangyeon suspects that is largely due to the language barrier. They don't have a clue what Sangyeon is saying. They don't think they have done anything wrong. All the same, Sangyeon wants to raise them right and that means serving punishments when they are due. 

Sangyeon carries the two rascals into his bedroom where the third (and yet unnamed) baby is snoozing. Just like a patient rosebud the small, pink baby will surely display some impressive ability like shape-shifting, but Sangyeon would prefer any such abilities aren't used for mischief. 

"Are you naughty kids going to be bad influences on the baby?" Sangyeon whispers. Two sets of eyes peer flatly up at him in response. Sangyeon shakes his head. "I won't let that happen. Jaehyun won't let that happen either. We're good parents, you know. We just want to raise you properly and we want the best for all three of you. Even if you're bad boys we still love you, but it would be nice if you were kind too."

Nothing. Of course the kids say nothing. 

Sangyeon sighs and carefully places the kids down either side of the blobby pink baby. They look adorable all lined up, even a blink later when they all look like marbles, chartreuse flanked by silver and sepia. Sangyeon smiles. 

"I'm not mad at you, really. You should reflect on the fact that you shouldn't damage things that belong to other people."

Hwall shuffles closer on the bed and Sangyeon pats his head gently. "Don't worry, you should just sleep. Wake up with better behaviour tomorrow."

Sunwoo hops over and Sangyeon stifles a yawn before stroking over Sunwoo's head too. 

"Sleep well."

+

"Hey."

Sangyeon jolts at the rough shaking and sits up. 

Jaehyun doesn't look happy to see Sangyeon but he is the one who came into Sangyeon’s room. 

"Oh, you're awake now? After I have spent five minutes wondering whether you're dead and I need to get a new roommate." 

"I'm not dead," Sangyeon says. 

"I worked that out, genius. Where are the kids?" 

Sangyeon gestures to the bed which turns out to be empty. 

"Where are the kids?" 

Jaehyun slaps Sangyeon’s arm and drags him up from his bed. "I just asked you that. Why are you sleeping instead of looking after them? What if they got out, Sangyeon?" 

That is a very good question. Sangyeon tries to stay calm but the kids definitely aren't in his room. This is typical of Hwall and Sunwoo because they are generally adventurous enough to discover new hiding places around the flat. The youngest isn't the same. The pink baby who is always round and comparably docile tends not to stray out of sight so waking up to all three of the babies gone feels far more concerning. 

Whilst searching through the kitchen cupboards it occurs to Sangyeon that the babies he and Jaehyun are raising together are aliens. They have no reason to stick around just as he and Jaehyun have no obligation to apply the pretence of parenthood. But Sangyeon loves the kids and, even if he isn't sure what the babies think, he feels like the love is reciprocated. All the same, Sangyeon makes his way over to the boiler cupboard near the front door where they stashed the capsule the babies arrived in. 

Jaehyun is already in there, crouching beneath the canopy of coats hanging on pegs and feeling for fissures in the immaculate surface of the capsule. 

"Do you think they want to go home? To their real home?" Sangyeon asks. 

Jaehyun glances up at Sangyeon, perhaps deep enough in thought that he doesn't have the time to really acknowledge him. He frowns down at the capsule once more. "Why can't this be their real home?" 

Sangyeon squats down so he can fit in the little cupboard and tries to make himself comfortable sitting on top of various shoes. He is just as desperate for the kids to consider this their real home too. Now that he has lived with them he doesn't want to have to return to a life without them. There is no point in compounding the worries he shares with Jaehyun. "We'll find them."

"You reckon?" 

"The windows are closed and they don't have any hands to open the doors," Sangyeon reasons. "They're in here somewhere, Jaehyun. They're our kids, they're just waiting for us to find them. They're just playing hide and seek."

"Hide and seek," Jaehyun says. "Do you think we can win?" 

"Absolutely," Sangyeon says. "What kind of parents would we be if we couldn't?" 

They search high and low and Sangyeon gains a new appreciation for people who opt for minimalistic lifestyles. They probably don't have to spend their evenings sorting through mountains of books and notes and broken hairdressing tools and what Sangyeon can only imagine is a burst parcel of wasted paint. Sangyeon is going to kill Jaehyun. There is paint all over Sangyeon’s pile of potentially useful things. 

Sangyeon drops the sloppy handful of paint and strips of rags at the sound of a scream. He rushes to the bathroom where the sound still seems to be reverberating against the tiles. Sangyeon’s heart is in his mouth and he hesitates before stepping into the bathroom. Jaehyun is crouching in the corner with his head in his hands. 

"Jaehyun, are you alright," Sangyeon asks. He prises Jaehyun's hand from his face more easily than expected. The wobbly smile is unexpected. It falls from Jaehyun's face quickly. 

"Sangyeon, why are you bleeding?" Jaehyun asks, voice thin as he grips Sangyeon’s hands too tightly as he brings them close to his face. 

"It's paint," Sangyeon says. "I'm not bleeding."

Jaehyun rubs at Sangyeon’s red-stained fingers, watches the texture as it transfers, and sighs in relief. "Okay. Good." He tips his head back against the wall and tries idly scratching the paint off Sangyeon’s hands. "My heart can't take all of this."

"That was you who screamed, right?" 

"Yeah," Jaehyun says, almost laughing, "Sunwoo jumped on my head from the top of the shower. I thought I was going to die. And then you come in here, bleeding all over the place."

"I'm not bleeding."

"Good. I know. Can you wash your hands, please?" 

Sangyeon shifts Sunwoo out of the sink and washes his hands. The red rinses away and the water runs clear. All gone. Sangyeon dries his hands. He shows Jaehyun his hands and stays quiet as Jaehyun slots their fingers together and strokes over the unblemished skin of Sangyeon’s hands. 

"Good. No blood." He presses a peck to the back of Sangyeon’s hand. He reaches for Sunwoo, a rubbery little blob for the time being, and pets his head. "Sunwoo, where are the others? That was very naughty of you to attack me but if you tell me where the other kids are we can let bygones be bygones."

Sunwoo blinks up at Jaehyun and hops in place, knocking the handsoap and the toothpaste into the sink. 

"No, Sangyeon is fine, see. Look at his hands, it was just paint. I know you were afraid that he was badly hurt, but he's alright. He can look after you, he's fine." Sunwoo keeps hopping and Jaehyun tugs on Sangyeon’s hand. "Show him that you're alright."

"I'm fine," Sangyeon says. He opens and closes his hand around Jaehyun's to show Sunwoo. "Do you think he was really worried? Do you think that these kids know anything about human bodies? Do they know what our insides look like and what colour our blood is?" 

Jaehyun narrows his eyes at Sangyeon. "What are you saying? Do you think I'm the one who is worried about you or something? Sunwoo is the one who was worried about you, not me. Don't accuse me of anything like that again."

"I'm sorry," Sangyeon says. 

"Good."

Jaehyun slips his hand away from Sangyeon and holds his arms out for Sunwoo to hop up and onto his shoulder. 

"Let's go and find the others."

With one baby secured Sangyeon feels positive about the search. He isn't sure Sunwoo is much help silently sitting on Jaehyun's shoulders. 

"Hwallie, where are you? Here, Hwallie, pspsps."

Jaehyun laughs. "Are you having fun? Or is that literally supposed to make finding him easier?" 

Sangyeon straightens up after his coaxing did not result in Hwall appearing from behind the sofa. "He's a cat, isn't he?" 

"Maybe that's why he isn't coming out to see you," Jaehyun says as he searches through a carrier bag full of junk mail. "Hwallie is one of our precious children, not just a cat. Even if your stupid 'psps' thing worked, do you think you could just do the same to find the little one?" 

"Eric," Sangyeon says. 

"What?" 

"Don't you think it suits him? It's a cute name," Sangyeon says. "It's like the name a little prince would have."

Jaehyun sends a puzzled look over to Sangyeon before sighing. Sangyeon wonders what genius alternative Jaehyun would suggest but it doesn't look as though the search for a new name is going well. Just like the search for the last two children. 

Sangyeon lifts up the sofa to see if Hwall or Eric are hiding away but the only thing that scuttles out is a large spider. The spider doesn't make it very far before being chewed up by a sleek black cat. 

"Hwall," Sangyeon cheers, "Where did you come from?" 

Hwall says nothing as he is cradled against Sangyeon’s chest. Jaehyun rushes over to coo and tickle at Hwall's chin right until a spider leg falls onto his palm. 

"What the hell is that?" Jaehyun asks as he shakes off his hand. "Why are you eating spiders? Hwallie's dad, why are you letting our precious baby eat spiders? They could be poisonous or anything."

"I'm sorry, Sunoo's dad, next time I will eat the spider myself."

Jaehyun grins at Sangyeon. "We're terrible parents. We haven't actually found any of the kids ourselves. This one just wanted to prank me, that one just wanted to eat a spider, and the little one is just… nowhere."

"Eric has got to be somewhere," Sangyeon reasons. "He should have been the easiest to find seeing as he's just a pink ball. Do either of you two have any clues?" 

The kids blink passively at Sangyeon. He thought as much. His forearms sting as Hwall pops into being a silver dumpling all over again. Somehow it feels like he is being made fun of. 

Jaehyun shifts Sunwoo from his shoulders and into his arms before standing up. The search continues. 

"Here, Eric. Come on boy," Jaehyun says loudly, making beckoning gestures before whistling. Hwall vibrates grumpily against Sangyeon’s chest but Sangyeon can't even see any ears to try to cover up. 

"Jaehyun, what are you doing?" 

Jaehyun stands up straight. "I'm trying to find our other son."

"How long ago was it that I was being ridiculous by trying to call Hwall like a cat?" 

"That's different. It didn't work when you did it. But I believe little baby Eric loves me enough to respond. Isn't that right, boy? Come on out, Eric!" 

Sangyeon isn't sure what else he expected from Jaehyun. Though he supposes it is worth clearing some things up. "Eric doesn't actually know that his name is Eric yet."

"What do you mean?" Jaehyun asks as he takes a jolting step closer. 

"Jaehyun, please, I am holding a baby. I only just decided on Eric's name now so I have never called him Eric. He's not going to come out no matter how much you use his name."

"You just decided right now?" Jaehyun asks, far too calmly. Sangyeon doesn't like it so he holds Hwall higher up so that the baby remains in Jaehyun's field of vision. 

"Listen, what did you want me to do? I panicked. I managed to get used to Hwall's name but I had to think of something before you did. I couldn't bear to be calling the little one something ridiculous like Dokki, Jaehyun, I'm sorry but I can't do it."

"So you're saying that you made up a name just so that I didn't get to name our child?" Jaehyun asks. He looks like he is gearing up to throw something at Sangyeon but the only thing in his hands is Sunwoo. 

"Jaehyun, you're holding a baby too."

Jaehyun adjusts his grip and is at least now holding Sunwoo like a baby and less like a projectile. 

"You're the worst, you know that?" Jaehyun says, still too calm. "I'll show you Dokki. Bangmangi! Bangmangi, where are you, son?" 

"Hey, shut up!" Sangyeon shouts louder than Jaehyun. He can't have a child named out of spite. "Eric, don't listen to him, you're allowed to have a person name. Come on, Eric!" 

Sangyeon keeps hold of Hwall to prevent any further disappearances but he begins his search in earnest. Hwall has grown into his name but Sangyeon would chew his own arm off before he calls his child bangmangi. 

Hwall, for some reason, isn't entirely happy to be held. It takes a few more fruitless passes in front of the kitchen door that Sangyeon realises that Hwall must be hungry. There is no way that Sangyeon could allow one of his precious children to starve. He makes sure to apologise lots and lots to poor little Hwall on the way to go and find a snack for him. 

"Taking a break? Given up on our Bangmangi already?" Jaehyun asks as he follows Sangyeon into the kitchen. 

"Hwall is hungry. And how do you know Eric isn't in here?" 

Jaehyun, just because he's annoying, starts loudly opening and closing cupboards as though there is enough room for him to do that with the four of them in the cramped kitchen. 

"Bangmangi, are you in here? You're clearly not in the fridge, wherever you are. Sangyeon, get out of the fridge and help me find our kid, you-" 

Sangyeon doesn't get to find out what colourful term of mild hostility Jaehyun has thought up for him. Sunwoo flops to the floor with a loud slap as Jaehyun staggers into the counters. 

Sangyeon hates himself for hesitating over who to see to first. 

Sangyeon drops Hwall onto the counter and quickly checks Sunwoo. Sunwoo bounces a few times and Sangyeon moves him to sit beside Hwall. All that is left is checking on Jaehyun, but Sangyeon feels ill-equipped to cope with his roommate keeling over and dying. Sangyeon would make a terrible single-parent and for a moment he convinces himself that if he doesn't ever actually check on Jaehyun then the universe will give in and let him keep his fellow parent as a result of his strong will. But then Jaehyun slumps further and his head makes a dull thunk against the top cupboard. 

"Jaehyun, are you dead?" 

Like most possibly-dead people, Jaehyun doesn't answer. He flops limply against Sangyeon though when Sangyeon tries to manoeuvre him which is very telling. 

"Close your eyes!" Sangyeon shouts to the children. They're too busy ignoring him and pressing buttons on the microwave. Sangyeon carefully lowers Jaehyun to the floor, propping him up against the cabinets, before shooing the kids away from the microwave. Which should have been empty. Sangyeon yanks open the microwave to find a bright pink bowl sitting inside. They don't own any pink bowls. Sangyeon looks between Sunwoo and Hwall sitting on the counter and very calmly asks, "What is this?" 

The kids just blink up at Sangyeon, mute. As expected. And then the bowl shocks Sangyeon’s skin, static sharp and the youngest child is sitting in Sangyeon’s hands. Sangyeon sighs. Of course he is the sort of parent bad enough that his children would try to microwave each other. 

+

Sangyeon leaves the kids outside Jaehyun's bedroom but leaves the door ajar in case there are any further genius microwave shenanigans. Hwall does keep hopping through the opening to nudge at Sangyeon’s leg but he dutifully returns Hwall to the other two babies and their bowls of snacks so he can maintain his watch alone. Jaehyun is lying on his bed and hasn't moved for half an hour. Sangyeon hasn't had much else to do whilst sitting on the bedroom floor besides time the misfortune. 

Sangyeon should probably have called an ambulance a while ago but he is feeling a bit all over the place. This must be how people get caught after murdering their spouses. Of course, Sangyeon hasn't actually killed anyone actively. He just accidentally left his roommate to silently expire and now he is going to turn into some grizzled old weirdo with a skeleton for a husband and three aliens for children. When this all gets discovered he is sure it will make the international news as some 'so random!' fluff piece to distract people from the ghastly conditions they live in. 

Jaehyun's body jerks on the bed. This must be just like when headless chickens still have nerve impulses moving their bodies long after the fact. This is the worst day of Sangyeon’s life. He didn't even get to make it to being a fully-fledged hairdresser, just an inexperienced underling. 

Jaehyun sits bolt upright on the bed, yelling, "Eric!" 

Yes, that is the name of one of the children that Sangyeon apparently now has to protect from a zombie. Eric, and Sunwoo, and Hwall are the names of their three children. 

"Jaehyun?" Sangyeon says cautiously as he stands to approach this zombie and defend his babies. 

"Sangyeon, where's Eric?" 

"Are you going to eat him?" Sangyeon approaches and decides that sacrificing himself will be for a worthy cause if it gives his helpless children time to escape. Unless of course they don't even try to escape because Jaehyun was such a good father to them before becoming a zombie. 

Jaehyun, apparently not caught up on the fact that he is now a zombie, frowns at Sangyeon. "Why would I eat our son?" 

"Aren't you a zombie? Didn't you die?" 

"No? I don't think I died. Why would I die, Sangyeon, what did you do to me?" 

"Nothing!" Sangyeon isn't even sure why he feels so defensive after trying to do his best for the family. "You suddenly passed out and I had to drag you to bed. And before I knew it thirty-six minutes had passed and you've probably got brain damage at the very least."

"You're accusing me of having brain damage," Jaehyun says, very slowly. "Who is the idiot who lost all three of our children and then assumed I had died. I'll show you brain damage!" 

Sangyeon, luckily, doesn't get to find out how Jaehyun planned to show him brain damage. The kids hop into the bedroom and rush over to the bed and Sangyeon considers himself rescued. 

Hwall hops right onto Jaehyun's lap but he doesn't get the first cuddle when Eric is in range to be scooped up. 

"Eric, oh my gosh, I'm never letting you out of my sight again, do you hear me?" 

Eric doesn't have much of a response. Not that Jaehyun minds as he squeezes the smallest baby to his chest. Sangyeon thinks he is safe enough to sit on the edge of the bed. 

"So it is Eric now. What happened to Sab or Sudkarak or whatever you wanted to call him?" 

"Bangmangi," Jaehyun says quickly. So he can't be too badly concussed. "How could I ever call this beautiful, wonderful, perfect baby something like that? I love you, Eric. I am going to look after you forever and ever and protect you from all the bad things in the whole wide world. I love you so much. Where were you?" 

"He was in the microwave," Sangyeon says. 

"He was what?" Jaehyun gasps. He squeezes Eric tighter and presses kisses all over Eric's head. "No. I love you. I refuse to believe anything like that."

"Also he was a bowl."

"What?" 

"Eric was a bowl. When I took him out of the microwave he turned back into a cute dumpling again."

"Was it you? Were you the one who got knocked out?" 

"It sounds unbelievable, I know, but it really happened," Sangyeon says. 

Jaehyun frowns but he doesn't say anything further about Eric being a bowl. He begins to smile after Hwall nudges his leg. 

"We all need to sleep together tonight. I don't want to risk the kids escaping and getting lost. You and me on either side and all the kids in the middle, alright?" 

Sangyeon supposes there isn't a better plan to protect the kids. 


	4. Two Nights

Jaehyun always likes nights where Sangyeon brings food home from the chicken shop the best. Sangyeon knows this because Jaehyun repeats the same thing over and over until all the food is gone. That doesn't seem fair when Sangyeon still needs to buy the food before the end of his shift (the 30% discount isn't quite as significant as Sangyeon wishes that it would be) and Jaehyun isn't half as appreciative when Sangyeon brings home supplies from the salon and offers to do something fun and interesting with Jaehyun's hair. 

"That's because it would be like me nicking a load of stuff from the clinic and offering to give you some sort of medical examination," Jaehyun says, matter of fact, as he feeds tiny shreds of fried chicken to Eric. 

"How is that even remotely true? Are you training to be a doctor?" Sangyeon asks. "I need to practice if I am going to become a proper hairdresser. Don't you trust me to do a good job with your hair?" 

"Obviously I don't."

"I'm really good," Sangyeon grumbles. He wipes his hands on his trousers and unlocks his phone. He has a special folder of photographs for times like this. "Look at these pictures of Chaekyung. She won't go to anyone else to do her hair. I'm her exclusive hair stylist. Isn't this proof enough that you should let me try?" 

"You just got lucky with Chaekyung," Jaehyun says, "If you did any of that to an ugly person we'd see how bad your skills are."

"No," Sangyeon pouts, "I'm good."

Hwall hops over to Sangyeon and nudges his knee. At least someone is kind enough to show him sympathy. Sangyeon sweeps Hwall into his arms. 

"You'd let me do your hair if you had any, wouldn't you?" Sangyeon asks. 

"Don't you touch Hwall's hair," Jaehyun says. "None of the other kids either. You're not allowed to ruin anyone's hair."

Sangyeon glowers. Food doesn't taste so great when Sangyeon’s feelings have been hurt. Also food doesn't taste spectacular when the oil has congealed after hours of sitting and waiting for Sangyeon to be able to bring it home after he finished closing down one of the extra fryers. 

Sangyeon puts Hwall down besides Sunwoo carefully before heading to the kitchen to find something less dense and sickly. 

"Can you refill me?" Jaehyun asks, the urgency in his tone a bit extreme considering he is simply holding up an empty glass. 

"If I never stood up would you have died of thirst?" 

"Probably," Jaehyun says, "Would you have been able to live with my blood on your hands?" 

"There wouldn't have been any blood," Sangyeon points out as he takes Jaehyun's glass. "I could have just rolled you into the little coat cupboard easily. No mess. What are you drinking anyway? This smells foul."

Sangyeon holds the glass further away from his face but smelling the residue in the glass was enough to put Sangyeon off ever inhaling again. Jaehyun's drink is pungent, something reminiscent of kale and cat urine, but Sangyeon is curious to know what the actual source of the scent is. 

"We got these free samples at work from some health supplement company."

"And you like the taste of whatever this is?" 

"Absolutely not," Jaehyun grins, "but I am trying to make up for the fact that I can't go to the gym as often because of the kids. And also Sunwoo loves the stuff."

"Should I get Sunwoo his own glass?" 

Jaehyun looks torn for a moment and he nudges Sunwoo as though an answer will pop out of him. "Go on then. He can finish mine afterwards if he feels like it."

Sangyeon finds the free samples in the fridge: three huge jugs of green sludge. Sangyeon opens the jug which is three-quarters full and pours it out into a glass for Jaehyun and a dish for Sunwoo. He makes himself a drink fit for a human before returning to the living room to find the kids occupying his seat. 

Jaehyun waits a moment before shooing the kids out of the way so Sangyeon can sit down. And Sangyeon exchanges the chance to sit down with the drinks. 

"I do my own hair," Sangyeon says. "Are you saying my hair is bad?" 

"Are we still on that?" Jaehyun asks. He reaches over and ruffles Sangyeon’s hair. "Your hair is beautiful."

"Thanks."

Sangyeon decides not to bother pushing the issue any further. Jaehyun needs a haircut but he can go to the same barber as always and get the same haircut as always. And Sangyeon can always try to be convincing again in the morning after they have both had enough sleep. 

Sangyeon is tired enough in the middle of the night but they can eat until they're bursting and clear away in the morning. He yawns and stretches his arms in the air. 

"Should we all go to bed?" Jaehyun asks. "Did you get what I asked earlier?" 

Sangyeon shuffles to the boiler cupboard by the door and fetches the carrier bag he had been tasked with buying before his shift. 

Sangyeon stifles another yawn as he opens the toothbrush packets and hands one to Jaehyun. He was in a rush as he popped into the chemist to choose some toothbrushes for the kids but he made sure to buy three different colours so they couldn't possibly get mixed up. 

Brushing the kids' teeth is not straightforward, in part because the kids don't have any teeth. Somehow Sangyeon gets stuck brushing Sunwoo's gums, nose wrinkling at the recycled smell of the nasty juice Jaehyun brought home. But Sangyeon can't even consider himself annoyed. He is just tired enough to be sure that Sunwoo is the cutest child to ever exist. 

"You're adorable. You're so cute and healthy," Sangyeon says to the baby in his lap. Sunwoo sneezes, in the normal way so Sangyeon and his clothes are safe for once. That is the positive attitude Sangyeon is trying to have after Sunwoo has spat toothpaste into his face. 

Jaehyun laughs but he grabs the hand towel and wipes Sangyeon’s face, so he supposes it works out as a neutral reaction. 

"We'll get better at this with practice."

"At least he wasn't sick on me, I suppose," Sangyeon says. 

Jaehyun narrows his eyes at Eric. "Don't you get any ideas."

Eric blinks up at Jaehyun before opening his mouth. And then bubbles stream out of his mouth. The bubbles are the floaty kind which glisten, prismatic, before they pop ticklishly. 

"How come you get all the fun things that the kids do but I get covered in every substance known to… whatever the babies qualify as?" 

"Aliens?" Jaehyun suggests. 

"Yeah, aliens," Sangyeon agrees. A bubble floats towards Sangyeon’s face and he pops it idly. 

They manage to get the kids cleaned up and go to bed. 

"I don't like the fact that we never discuss where the kids are going to sleep," Sangyeon says as he watches Jaehyun drop the kids into the mattress. "You always just throw them in my bed and then if I say anything it would sound like I don't want the kids around."

"Do you want the kids to sleep in my bed?" Jaehyun asks. "Where would I sleep?" 

"In the bed. With the kids. It isn't an issue when they sleep in my bed every night."

Jaehyun sits on the edge of the bed and smiles blandly at Sangyeon. "I'm sensitive. I can't sleep with the kids in the bed with me. I love them but I have a delicate constitution."

Sangyeon scoffs. He had heard this before but he has also heard Jaehyun snoring happily with the kids snoozing around him. It is too late to argue over something like that though. Sangyeon is tired and his eyes itch. The kids will sleep in his bed and he will just have to remember not to complain when Jaehyun barges into his room in a few hours' time. 

"You shouldn't rub your eyes," Jaehyun says as he slaps Sangyeon’s hand away from his eyes. 

"I'm tired."

"You're setting a terrible example for the kids." 

Sangyeon doesn't mind setting a bad example to the kids when it is this late and his eyes itch. They don't even have hands. He sits on the bed and yawns. He might just fall asleep with the lights on if Jaehyun doesn't bother to turn them off on his way out to his own room. 

"Stop rubbing your eyes!" Jaehyun says sharply as he slaps Sangyeon’s hand away once more. And Sangyeon is pricked by his entire eyeball somehow turning inside out. Or maybe something less ridiculous. Either way, Sangyeon yowls in pain. 

Jaehyun holds Sangyeon’s shoulders firm and leans close, far too close, and topples them onto Sangyeon’s bed. 

"Stop struggling," Jaehyun says. 

"But my eye-" 

"I mean it!" Jaehyun says as he pins Sangyeon down. He grips at Sangyeon’s face as he peers down at him. "Let me get the hundred eyelashes out of your eye before you make it worse."

Sangyeon lies still and ignores the bubbles streaming into the air above them. This is fine even if he sort of wants to fight Jaehyun right now. Nonetheless he restrains himself and appreciates that this close, Jaehyun isn't bad looking when it is late at night and the ends of his hair are curling and his brows are furrowed in concentration as he stares down at Sangyeon. 

"Don't flinch," Jaehyun says. And then he blows hard directly onto Sangyeon’s eyeball. 

"Ow!" 

"Stop struggling," Jaehyun insists. He adjusts the way he is sitting on Sangyeon and strokes Sangyeon’s hair out of his face. He isn't in any rush at all as he holds Sangyeon still and this doesn't exactly seem fair when one of the kids keeps bouncing into the side of Sangyeon’s head. 

"I've stopped struggling."

Jaehyun blinks, licks his lips idly, and nods. "You've stopped struggling. I will get the eyelashes out of your eye. Just be patient."

Sangyeon is already patient. He feels like he has been waiting too long already. 

Jaehyun puckers his lips and blows, more gently this time, and then closes Sangyeon’s eye with his finger and says, "Blink. Really fast."

Sangyeon does as he is told and ignores the way Jaehyun smiles down at him. This is stupid. 

"I'm going to let you open your eye. Be careful and let me know if you can still feel something in your eye."

Sangyeon carefully opens his eye. And then he definitely feels something in it. 

"Why did you close your eye?" 

"Why did you stick your finger in it?" 

"You're struggling again," Jaehyun points out. "Pretty please, can you open your eye? I saw the eyelash in there but I need you to look somewhere else whilst I try to get rid of it."

Sangyeon is almost convinced. And then he remembers why this is a stupid idea. 

"I don't even know where your finger has been, why would I want it in my eye?" 

"My hands are clean! You literally saw me wash them! Or you would have if you didn't have your own fingers in your eye. Do you think that's any better than my pristine fingers? Should we compare fingers?" 

"How?" Sangyeon asks. Jaehyun sighs and sits up to frown at the kids. 

"Kids, babies, please don't pay us any attention. Your parents are very stressed right now but I want you to know that this is no way for you to behave."

The kids don't say anything. Hwall hops closer and Sangyeon knows that neither he nor Jaehyun can so much as frown in Hwall's presence. 

"Don't rub your eyes," Sangyeon warns. Hwall doesn't promise anything but nudges Sangyeon’s shoulder again. So Sangyeon decides to cooperate. He lies still and stares up at the ceiling and waits for Jaehyun to do his worst. 

"Don't move," Jaehyun whispers. 

"I'm trying not to."

Jaehyun is more gentle as he sticks his finger in Sangyeon’s eye and at least this time Sangyeon is expecting it enough that he doesn't flinch quite so hard. But he is completely rigid as he awaits his fate. And then something orange collides with the side of Jaehyun’s head and sends him toppling sideways. 

Sangyeon sits up. The orange thing was Sunwoo who is now merrily sitting on Jaehyun's chest. 

This time Sangyeon tries not to panic. He shoos Sunwoo and checks for Jaehyun's pulse and he tries to check for a response in Jaehyun's pupils or whatever else people on TV do with suddenly unconscious people. And then he looks at Sunwoo and the other two kids. 

A chain of bubbles spews from Eric's mouth but it has been a while since they brushed his teeth. 

Something is suspicious.

"Are you doing this? I lived here for over a month before you arrived and Jaehyun never passed out before. He has never mentioned any sort of medical condition either. I asked and everything. I don't want to suspect my kids but this is strange. Please be honest with me: did you do this to Jaehyun?"

The kids don't answer. Sangyeon doesn't want to believe the kids would do anything to make Jaehyun faint, nor does he want to believe such a thing is even possible, but he doesn't have any evidence to the contrary. 

Sangyeon rubs his eye and supposes that there is only one solution. 

The kids hop around too much when Sangyeon tucks them into Jaehyun's bed. 

"You must behave," Sangyeon instructs. Eric is practically vibrating out of the covers and he keeps hiccupping flurries of bubbles into the air. Sangyeon suspects that this low level restraint will snap the second he closes the bedroom door behind him. "Kids, I am being serious. You need to go to sleep and behave. I need to look after your dad tonight but he will be very unhappy if he wakes up tomorrow and you have ruined all of his things. No matter how vast his love for the three of you is, he will still be very upset. Please don't upset your dad."

The kids don't answer but Sunwoo eventually hops into Eric's side and pops several bubbles before Eric has the chance to spit them out. This is the closest Sangyeon will get to a guarantee so he kisses the three babies goodnight before returning to his own room. 

Sangyeon manages to drag Jaehyun into a more comfortable sleeping position and switches off the light. And then he hopes that the children aren't secretly wreaking havoc in Jaehyun's room. 

It takes a while for Sangyeon to fall asleep. He rubs his eye until it feels better and he checks that Jaehyun is still breathing several times before he can sink into his pillows. He doesn't have as much space as he is accustomed to but he thinks it is strange that after spending so long sleeping on sofas and floors of friends who didn't mind him hanging around, he is now struggling to sleep because he doesn't have the entirety of his bed to himself. He supposes that he quickly accumulated too many possessions too, perhaps more than he'd ever really need, but that sort of thinking will guarantee a sleepless night and he would at least like to get enough rest to remember to call in sick on Jaehyun's behalf in the morning.

Sangyeon closes his eyes. This is fine. He doesn't sleep too deeply but it is just enough to pretend he is soundly asleep when he feels Jaehyun shifting, confused in the night. 

+

Predictably, Sangyeon’s date does not go well. Sangyeon is not the one who predicted the night of calamity but Jaehyun can only be described as triumphant when Sangyeon returns home. 

"You're back early," Jaehyun cheers when he comes to meet Sangyeon at the door with Hwall in his arms. "Did the date go well? It is eight o'clock. Is that the usual time to come back after a date?" 

"Stop trying to be funny," Sangyeon says. The smell of food is beckoning but the very short excursion has left Sangyeon bone tired. He gets out of his shoes and his jacket and kisses Hwall on the forehead as he goes to his room to change into something more comfortable. 

"Was it really bad?" Jaehyun asks from the doorway. "I didn't become a single parent out of the goodness of my heart so that you could have a bad date."

Sangyeon laughs as he strips out of the clothes he had spent too long choosing. Jaehyun comes in and sits on the bed beside Sangyeon’s pile of loungewear. He looks up at Sangyeon expectantly. There is no way Sangyeon is going to be able to end this day without having to relay the events of the night. 

In an ideal world Sangyeon wouldn't have made a fuss about having a date with one of Chaekyung's friends who is definitely pretty. But there wasn't exactly a way for Sangyeon to escape for an evening without telling Jaehyun why he wanted to have a night out. Sangyeon’s insistence that Jaehyun was allowed to have any night off to spend with friends was met with stony indifference. So Sangyeon had no choice but to explain about the date and now he has no choice but to tell Jaehyun what happened. 

"You don't need to worry about being a single parent for another night," Sangyeon says. Jaehyun whacks Sangyeon’s hip and reminds Hwall not to follow his own violent example. 

"Be quiet. Just tell me what happened. Did Chaekyung lie? Was her friend ugly?" 

"No. She was… Words can't describe how gorgeous she was. And about six minutes into drinks this huge guy turns up and decides to join us. Apparently they are 'good friends' and when she left to go to the toilet he warned me off. But I already got the hint when she was just happy to see him turn up to our date. But I had just ordered some jalapeño poppers and I heard these were supposed to be especially good."

"You ordered jalapeño poppers on a date?" Jaehyun asks. 

"That's all you have to say?" 

"I have other things to say," Jaehyun says, "But this is just difficult for me right now. Why would you arrive at this bar, meet this apparently beautiful girl, and decide right then and there that you don't want to kiss her?" 

Sangyeon laughs. He pulls on a soft, red hoodie from the pile of options and when he emerges from the head hole Jaehyun is smiling gently at him. 

"What?" Sangyeon asks. 

"Nothing," Jaehyun says quickly. He looks down at Hwall instead and says, "The kids are just glad to see you home already. Were the jalapeño poppers good?" 

Sangyeon pauses whilst changing into jogging bottoms that are soft enough that he feels appropriately coddled to heal his almost broken heart. "Yeah. They were alright. We should get some one day."

"But who will look after the babies?" 

"Maybe if we ask nicely they'll do them for takeout," Sangyeon suggests. 

Jaehyun grins. "Don't you want to treat me to something better than that?" 

"Like what?" Sangyeon asks, "What do you want?" 

Jaehyun falters but he shakes himself out of the delay. "Now there's a question. I couldn't possibly decide something as big as that right now. I will ask the babies to help me to write a list and then I'll get back to you. But did you want to come and sit with me and the kids? We're having our own date night."

Sangyeon laughs. That is kind of cute even if the intention had been to make up for being left out. He smelled oven pizza and microwave popcorn when he arrived home and he might just be in need of the comfort of simple indulgence. 

"That sounds like fun," Sangyeon says. 

They get settled in the living room with the kids each nibbling at stiff slices of pizza and Jaehyun passes a few slices on a plate to Sangyeon before pressing play on the movie that had been paused on the TV. Sangyeon doesn't mind that the movie is over two-thirds finished, just tears himself off a sheet of kitchen towel as he sinks into the sofa cushions. Watching an animated film with the children is a nice way to spend an evening and it doesn't feel anything like the date was a waste of time. 

The kids are happy but Jaehyun isn't actually watching the film, just fiddling with his phone. It might be fine to just talk. 

"What did you do whilst I was out?" 

"Aside from have a fun movie night with the kids? I painted. I am not great with the colours or even the lineart but I asked Kevin's opinion and he said I am improving."

Jaehyun speaks as though he isn't saying anything important. But it is a reminder of things which had slipped Sangyeon’s mind entirely. 

"Can I see it?" 

"Absolutely not," Jaehyun says. 

"Is it another picture of me? For your Jacob plan?" 

"Oh, that?" Jaehyun says. It almost sounds like Jaehyun forgot too, but he is good at diminishing the significance of almost anything. He is good at pretending to be sincere in his indifference. "I might have missed the timing of that. Enough of my non-existent lovelife; show me the girl who dumped you."

Sangyeon rolls his eyes but he obliges. He had studied Somin's instagram posts to look for clues that might make him a better date. Somehow he missed the massive clue which came in the form of the huge guy who interrupted the date. He is in a lot of Somin's pictures and he has left unctuous comments on the pictures he isn't captured within. Sangyeon shows Jaehyun the incriminating feed and awaits judgement. 

Jaehyun looks through Somin's pictures far too long to end up with the opinion of, "You could do better."

Sangyeon scoffs. He hadn't expected that but Jaehyun's voice is frivolous to the point that there is no way he truly has an opinion on the matter. But that doesn't stop Sangyeon from pressing. 

"How could I do better? She's gorgeous."

"Maybe," Jaehyun says though it must be a bad lie, "I don't think she is for you."

Sangyeon does agree with that. "Yeah, she isn't for me. She looks good with this guy. I was punching well above my weight with her. I think Chaekyung set us up just because she knew she could hold me to a promise. Whatever I owe her, I hope it isn't too bad."

"She's not out of your league," Jaehyun says, eyes sharp and jaw set. "So what if she's a bit pretty? You could have whoever you wanted."

As ridiculous as Jaehyun is being, Sangyeon can't help but laugh. 

"You don't need to fluff my ego like this. I'm a big boy so I can get over a bad date without you telling lies like that."

"I'm not lying," Jaehyun says, like he means it. The way he is staring back at Sangyeon is strange, daring him to deny it again. 

Things should be easier than this. The date doesn't matter and as disappointing as it is to have made the effort, Sangyeon’s self-esteem isn't going to crumble all because of one girl who doesn't have any room for him in her life. But because things aren't easy, Hwall gets distracted from his slice of pizza and hops against Sangyeon’s shin in warning. Sangyeon isn't in the mood for anything strange to happen tonight so he scoops Hwall into his arms. 

"Don't worry, baby. Hwallie's dad isn't fighting with me. We're just fine, see. Jaehyun, I am sorry for calling you a liar."

Jaehyun softens the set of his jaw. He catches on quickly. "Thank you, Sangyeon, please don't worry about it. On an entirely unrelated note, can you come to the kitchen with me for a second?" 

Sangyeon feels uncertain about what this could possibly be about. He has his suspicions but it is better not to raise those concerns in front of the children. He sets the babies on the sofa and promises not to be long as he follows Jaehyun into the kitchen. 

"You could have anyone you want in the world, Sangyeon. Name anyone. They're yours."

"You can't be serious," Sangyeon groans. He had at least thought there was something else. "Why are we still on about this? I'm fine. Not even a little bit heartbroken. Why are you still talking about this? Oh, unless you lied about having a non-existent lovelife and you don't want to rub it in my face. Tell me what's going on. How is Jacob?" 

Jaehyun pulls a face. "Fine. I don't know."

"That doesn't sound promising."

"It doesn't matter. We're talking about you," Jaehyun insists. 

"Why are we talking about me?" Sangyeon asks. He prods Jaehyun's arm and tries to smile. "Let's talk about you. Let's talk about how you're going to woo the pants off Jacob."

Jaehyun doesn't take too kindly to that and grumbles something about what he will do with Sangyeon’s pants just as Eric rolls into the kitchen. 

Jaehyun waves away the bubbles that spill out of Eric as he rolls uselessly on the floor. Eric is happy enough as he is cradled against Jaehyun's chest but Sangyeon takes the moment to check outside the kitchen door. Sunwoo is hopping away frantically but Hwall is still dithering only one hop away from the door. 

"We're not fighting," Sangyeon calls as he retrieves Hwall from the corridor. The announcement isn't enough to bring Sunwoo back so Sangyeon decides to go after him. "Why did you kids follow us? You should have been watching your movie and having fun. Do we need to find you a different movie?" 

Sunwoo obviously doesn't say anything but he does settle happily in Sangyeon’s lap when Sangyeon stops the film to find something else. 

"Nothing too long," Jaehyun mutters as he and Eric rejoin everyone. "The kids shouldn't stay up too late."

Sangyeon agrees that the kids shouldn't stay up too late but twenty minutes into Hotel Transylvania, Sangyeon realises that Sunwoo isn't going to sleep at all. Sunwoo has buried his face in Sangyeon’s hoodie but he is still trembling since the first appearance of one of the less cute characters. 

"I'm going to take Sunwoo to bed," Sangyeon says quietly. "I'll be back to help clear up once he's fallen asleep."

"Okay," Jaehyun says. He doesn't look away from the screen but Sangyeon can just pretend that it doesn't matter. 

Sangyeon turns on the ceiling light and table lamp in his bedroom before crafting a little nest for Sunwoo to sit in. It doesn't immediately work but Sangyeon makes sure to get comfortable with Sunwoo and set up a playlist of pseudo-documentary videos on his phone. There is nothing at all scary about those and Sunwoo eventually settles down. 

But then Sangyeon is shaken awake by Jaehyun. 

"Aren't you going to help me clean up?" Jaehyun asks, voice hushed. Sangyeon rubs his eyes and sits up. Sunwoo is sleeping in the nest and the other two babies are snoozing against each other on Sangyeon’s bed. 

"Sorry," Sangyeon says, "I'll come and help."

There isn't too much of a mess in the living room but it is apparently going to take the two of them to stack plates to take them to the kitchen to get washed. 

"Are you mad at me?" Jaehyun asks as he is scraping away the leftovers of pizza. 

"Why would I be mad at you, Jaehyun?" 

"I don't know?" Jaehyun grumbles. "You decided to go off and sulk for no reason at all. So it is likely that you are mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," Sangyeon sighs. "Let's drop this after today, alright? I am not mad at you but I don't understand why you keep trying to boost my self-esteem. It doesn't matter that I basically got dumped tonight. It was just a night out with some random girl. Thank you for being so kind to me, you could also have anyone you want in the world, alright? Are we square? Can we never talk about this again?"

Jaehyun stares at Sangyeon for a moment and sighs. "Fine. I won't bring it up again."

"Thank you."

They wash up quietly and they are almost done when Jaehyun says, "The kids are taking up your whole bed. Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?" 

Sangyeon would prefer that to contorting himself to fit around the kids. He has done it too many times lately to volunteer for the same pain again. 

"I would, thank you." 

"Don't worry about it," Jaehyun says. And then that's that. They brush their teeth together and don't say anything at all as they get into bed together and go to sleep. 


	5. The First Night

Sangyeon’s chest aches hours after the capsule that slammed through the front door hit him. But apparently he is fine. He doesn't feel fine but he will see what a medical professional decides. 

Jaehyun doesn't work night shifts very often, if at all, so he isn't entirely familiar with the receptionists who do the same job as him after hours. Returning to the clinic where he talks to patients all day seems to be stressful when Jaehyun isn't being paid to be here. But emergency appointments can't be avoided when Sangyeon is half certain that his entire ribcage is shattered. 

"Stay here," Jaehyun instructs for the fifth time as though he imagines Sangyeon has somewhere else he'd like to wander off. "I think I must have explained the situation wrong the last few times. You shouldn't have been sitting here for so long. It isn't like we have a triage nurse to properly prioritise patients."

Sangyeon grabs Jaehyun's wrist and tethers him to their space in the waiting room. Jaehyun glances around like he expects the other people impatiently waiting their turns to think something strange about him, but he does sink back onto his seat and lean close to hear Sangyeon’s feeble request. 

"Have you considered the possibility that every time you go over there you're making things worse?" Sangyeon rasps. 

Jaehyun frowns. "They're not allowed to do that. I think they must have forgotten about you. I just need to remind them how serious your injury might be."

"Stop telling people how to do their jobs. I'm begging you to stop."

A conflict passes over Jaehyun's face and he glances at the reception desk uncertainly before sitting back in his seat properly. Sangyeon might not get bumped down the waiting list again. It feels something like success if Sangyeon ignores the tender fragility of his chest. He might not have collapsed a lung or squashed his internal organs but he is still in too much pain to want to risk Jaehyun prolonging the eternity on these chairs which aren't as comfortable as when Sangyeon first sat down. 

Jaehyun finds another way to make their time in the waiting room feel longer. Sangyeon watches Jaehyun shake his leg for a very long moment before saying anything. 

"Can you stop that?" 

"What?" Jaehyun asks, almost ignorant. 

"You're shaking the whole row of chairs."

Jaehyun keeps bouncing his leg just a bit longer before his leg freezes and realisation settles over his face. The poor woman sitting on their row looks relieved that she won't be feeling quite so seasick. Jaehyun on the other hand looks stressed. 

"Oh no, did I hurt you more?" He frets. He even grasps Sangyeon’s hand and squeezes it tight. "I'll go and ask to see how long it will be until your turn. I can't believe they're just letting you sit here in need of medical attention when you could be seriously-" 

"Let's just wait until my name is called. Like we're supposed to."

Jaehyun looks unsure of that suggestion and he slides his hand away and holds it gingerly in his own lap. Then he says, "I'll get you a drink from the water cooler."

Sangyeon doesn't say anything. He doesn't know Jaehyun particularly well - well enough to know that they aren't friends, well enough to know that he has a right to be annoyed at Jaehyun for his weird painting, but not much more than that. However Sangyeon doesn't need to know everything about Jaehyun to see that Jaehyun isn't coping well with the situation. 

Sangyeon watches Jaehyun decide that he is helpful, and he watches as Jaehyun strides across the waiting room to the water cooler. Sangyeon thinks it is more polite to look away when he realises what a mess Jaehyun is making, dropping disposable cups to the ground and spilling water on the floor. But Sangyeon doesn't need to be looking to feel the trembling of Jaehyun’s fingers when he hands over the cup of water. 

"I'm not going to die," Sangyeon points out. 

"I didn't realise you had a medical degree. You should have said something before you made us come all the way here," Jaehyun bites back sullenly. 

"I don't get why you're in such a foul mood. I'm the one who is hurt."

Jaehyun shrugs. He dithers around his thoughts and by the time he opens his mouth Sangyeon is called to one of the offices. 

"I didn't expect to see you here, Jaehyun, did you miss me so much that you injured your poor friend here?" Doctor Kim says cheerily. She gestures to the chair nearest her desk for Sangyeon and smiles expectantly up at Jaehyun who is standing awkwardly next to a poster about lung disease. 

"We're not really friends," Sangyeon offers in Jaehyun's silence. "Just roommates."

"Oh," the doctor says. Her expression doesn't give away much more than her wordlessness. 

"Just roommates," Jaehyun confirms. 

"What happened to the other one?" 

"He moved out," Jaehyun says tightly. "Do you maybe want to examine this one seeing as that's what we're here for?" 

The doctor raises her eyebrows and smiles. She looks unfortunately as though she wants to keep prodding at Jaehyun's current sensitivity. She begins the examination without too much preamble. 

The doctor frowns at Sangyeon’s bare chest once the curtain is drawn around the examination bed and his shirt has been removed. She listens to his chest. Her stethoscope is icy as she moves it around his skin before each instruction to breathe in and out. 

"It's a big bruise. What happened?" 

"I fell," Sangyeon says. He obviously doesn't sound convincing because the doctor's face hardens. 

"Fell how?" 

"I tripped," Sangyeon offers. It still isn't good enough. 

"I pushed him." The words tear out of Jaehyun’s throat, clearly reluctant, from the other side of the curtain. He mostly sounds as though he wishes he hadn't bothered to say it. Sangyeon wishes he hadn't said it too. It is the sort of false admission which only begs more questions. 

"Into what, Jaehyun? A moving car?" 

"No. Just a… A chest of drawers." 

The doctor sighs. She looks at Sangyeon seriously. "You need to go to an actual hospital. I will call ahead but you need an X-ray to make sure you haven't fractured any ribs. Whatever you two were doing, please don't do it again."

Sangyeon doesn't plan on getting knocked down by something flying through the front door again. He redresses and heads out with Jaehyun. 

"Should we just go home?" Sangyeon asks in the car. It is late and they're both obviously tired. But Jaehyun glares at Sangyeon like that is the worst idea he has ever heard. 

"Did you hit your head too?" Jaehyun grumbles. "We're going to the hospital like the doctor said and getting that X-ray. I'm not risking you dying and leaving me alone to take care of the rent."

"Were you not saving up when I moved in and we had to split the rent three ways? Honestly I still don't think it is fair that I didn't even have a bed but I had to put in the same amount as you and Jacob."

Jaehyun shrugs. "You were outvoted. Get over it."

He starts up the car engine and drives them to the hospital. He ends up getting into a tizzy over the lack of parking spaces and Sangyeon is wary of attempting to ease his nerves. Jaehyun's knuckles are blanched as he grips the steering wheel tighter and tighter. Sangyeon wonders whether he'd set Jaehyun off just by breathing too loudly. Except Sangyeon hisses at a breath that went too deep and Jaehyun almost drives them into the back of a reversing car. 

On the way into the ED Jaehyun isn't any happier than before even if he is supporting Sangyeon as they hobble together. 

"I'm sorry," Sangyeon says. The look he gets in response can't quite be described as a glare. 

"What are you apologising for?" Jaehyun asks drily. "It was my fault for jostling around such precious cargo and being such a bad driver."

Sangyeon sighs. This is too much. Nothing that he can say will make this any better. But Jaehyun makes them stop and he grips Sangyeon too tight. 

"Are you alright? Sorry, did I knock into you?" 

"No," Sangyeon says tightly. "I'm fine. Let's just get inside."

Jaehyun does not look convinced but they queue up at the reception and sign in. And then they get told to take a seat and Jaehyun deflates. 

The cycle begins again. They wait at their seats and Jaehyun is as irritating as he frets over all the wrong things until Sangyeon’s name is called and he gets taken to a bay. 

Obviously other people are in far worse a state than Sangyeon so it only makes sense that they got priority. Sangyeon is left in his bay to get changed into a gown ready for the X-ray but Jaehyun sits with him and grumbles about how long things are taking. 

"I'm sorry that your night has been taken up by all of this. I owe you big time."

Jaehyun's face falls and he doesn't say anything for a long while, long enough that it is strange that he saw any reason to complain about waiting earlier. 

And then he says, "Don't worry about that. I'm not annoyed."

Jaehyun doesn't say much more than that but he keeps casting concerned glances Sangyeon’s way when they're in the medical illustration waiting room. All they have done is wait around but Sangyeon’s X-ray comes back clear. No fractures or breaks anywhere, which is surprising, and Jaehyun even asks whether there is something wrong with the machine rather than accepting the assessment for what it is. Sangyeon gets sent home with a prescription for co-codamol and that is the end of that. 

Except it is around three am by the time they get home and Sangyeon sort of wishes Jaehyun would just get mad as he clearly wants to. He doesn't though. He still has hands on Sangyeon as though he is worried Sangyeon will burst apart at any moment as they pick their way through the debris of the argument before. 

Sangyeon is apparently fine. He just has painkillers to take. Nothing too crazy. 

Jaehyun makes a big fuss about getting Sangyeon comfortable in bed and he brings a jug of water and a glassful of ice. His bedside manner could do with some work though. He looks miserable the entire time. 

"Jaehyun," Sangyeon says, "I really am sorry."

"What for?" Jaehyun asks. The question sounds like it is dismissing any apology whatsoever but his tone of voice certainly invites the possibility that Sangyeon should be sorry about something. 

"I ruined your night," Sangyeon says.

Jaehyun sighs. "Goodnight, Sangyeon. Get some rest."

Jaehyun leaves Sangyeon’s bedroom. Clearly that was the wrong answer. Sangyeon can't quite work out what he was supposed to say. He has time to ponder things seeing as the painkillers haven't quite set in and the ache in his chest is persistent enough to gnaw at his mind. 

Sangyeon can't stay in bed. He doesn't want to lie awake for the remainder of the night, agonising over something that doesn't matter. Or shouldn't matter. 

Jaehyun isn't in his room. He is sitting in the living room, though he isn't clearing the mess from before. He is sitting on the floor in front of the strange capsule which knocked Sangyeon down earlier. 

"Hey," Sangyeon says. 

"Do you need anything?" Jaehyun asks. 

"No." Sangyeon slowly lowers himself to the ground to sit beside Jaehyun. "Why aren't you in bed?" 

"I couldn't sleep. I was thinking about a lot of things. I was wondering what this thing was. It looks like there is a seam along here, see?" 

Sangyeon does see. He tries to run his thumbnail through the groove. And it does appear like it should be able to open. 

"What do you think it is?" He asks, "Aliens?" 

"Are your painkillers too strong?" Jaehyun asks. "It was thundering. Even if the storm didn't actually arrive to do anything, I think some high winds must have brought this here."

"But what is it?" Sangyeon asks. He doesn't even bother to mention the weight of the capsule. It isn't the sort of thing that should easily get swept up in the wind and soar three storeys into the air. 

"I wonder," Jaehyun mutters as he puts more effort into trying to prise the capsule open. Sangyeon tries to help too, even though the exertion pulls painfully at his chest. 

Sangyeon blinks surprise out of his eyes. He hadn't felt himself fall backwards but he and Jaehyun aren't so close to the capsule anymore. In fact the capsule could hardly be called a capsule at the moment as it looks more like a capsised dinghy. 

Jaehyun is the first to move. He crawls forwards and rolls the strange capsule over and it rocks gently until the momentum ceases. A panel is missing, and the exposed interior is more like a pea pod than anything else. Though Sangyeon might only be thinking about peas because of the three spheres sitting inside the capsule. 

"I'm more confused now."

Sangyeon grins. He doesn't understand this either. "Do you still think it isn't aliens?" 

"Why would an alien come here to us though?" Jaehyun asks. When Sangyeon reaches into the capsule Jaehyun tries to slap his hands away and then he apologises and peers through his fingers. 

Sangyeon holds one of the spheres. This is strange. It is warm in his hands, a bit smaller than a football, but the texture is strange. Smooth, soft. Sangyeon rolls the sphere in his hands. The colour is strange too, silvery but it is strange that it isn't fur or even the familiar texture of skin. 

"Do you reckon this is alive?" Sangyeon asks as he tosses the sphere to Jaehyun. 

"For goodness sake, Sangyeon, you could have given me more warning than that." Jaehyun turns the silver sphere over and over. And then he cringes and redoubles his grip to hold it against his chest. "I think this is alive."

"See," Sangyeon says. "Aliens."

Sangyeon crawls to sit at Jaehyun's side and peers at the alien. It blinks up at the two of them, eyes flat and black. 

"Oh wow," Sangyeon gasps. "It's alive."

The alien blinks a few more times and the two of them watch it silently for a while. It is alive. Something about the little round alien is perfect. And then Sangyeon remembers there are two more of them. 

Sangyeon shifts to peer at the other two aliens. He prods at the one which is vulpine auburn and wonders whether he hurt it. He lifts it out of the pod and holds it carefully. But it doesn't wake up like the silver one. 

"Hey," Sangyeon says quietly. "Are you sleeping? It would be nice to meet you too. Are you aliens? Where are you from?" 

The little alien says nothing and remains dormant in Sangyeon’s hold. He sighs and Jaehyun is looking over curiously. 

"Maybe that one is still tired." 

"Maybe," Sangyeon says. Then he holds it out to Jaehyun. "You try."

Jaehyun looks hesitant but he accepts the dull orange alien and leaves the silver one resting on his lap. Sure enough Jaehyun begins to look guilty and this alien also blinks itself awake. 

"It must just be a coincidence," Jaehyun says quietly. 

"Or maybe they're responding to your DNA or something. Here. Pick this one up too," Sangyeon says as he pushes the pod forwards and gestures to the pink sphere that remains. 

"How would these things know anything about my DNA?" Jaehyun asks cautiously. 

"I don't know. They're aliens. Just try it."

Reluctantly, Jaehyun tries. He holds the pink sphere carefully. And nothing happens. 

"I told you it was a coincidence," Jaehyun says. He passes the immobile pink alien to Sangyeon and herds the wriggling little aliens back towards his lap. 

"That's not fair. Why do you get both of them whilst I get this one? Maybe this one isn't even alive," Sangyeon points out, "Maybe this is just a decoy in case any predators- Oh."

Two flat black circles pop into place, staring right up at Sangyeon. The alien blinks a few times and Sangyeon can't help but smile. 

"Hey, buddy. Did you have a good sleep?" 

Of course the alien doesn't respond but Sangyeon doesn't need an answer. He's happy just holding the strange creature, warm and weighty. 

Jaehyun shuffles closer with the other two aliens and smiles at the one cradled against Sangyeon’s chest. 

"They're adorable," Jaehyun says in a hushed voice. "Do you think they're babies? What do we do if they're escaping extinction or war or something like that?" 

"They might be adults," Sangyeon allows. "But they're too cute. Maybe they're babies and they need us to look after them."

"Babies," Jaehyun muses. 

"And then these missing babies will be the catalyst for an alien invasion and a fleet from their homeworld comes to wipe out earth civilisation for keeping these babies as prisoners."

Jaehyun laughs quietly but he shakes his head. "You're not prisoners. You could leave whenever you like. But you're not going to, right? You want to stay here with us?" 

The aliens don't answer. Sangyeon doesn't expect anything else, but the moment gives him a quiet hope. 

For now he hopes that these little aliens do want to stay with them. At least for a little while.


	6. Intruders

Sangyeon sits bolt upright in bed. He barely wants to breathe just in case he misses the sound which stirred him in the first place. He switches on the lamp on the bedside table and wonders if he can trick himself into being able to hear better simply by being able to see. It is just when Sangyeon is about to let his head fall back onto his pillow that he hears it again. 

There's someone in the kitchen. 

Sangyeon is no coward but it is the middle of the night and he'd never imagined he'd be faced with an intruder in his life. His mind races through the location of anything that could be used as a weapon if things came down to self defence but all he can think of is the knives in the kitchen - certainly not an option. So Sangyeon will have to creep out of the bedroom without anything to even defend himself. 

Confronting an intruder in scruffy loungewear isn't the most comforting of scenarios and Sangyeon wishes he could have avoided this. 

And then he remembers they have kids in the flat. Aliens or not, their children are even more defenceless than Sangyeon is. 

"Jaehyun, wake up," Sangyeon hisses. He knew it was a bad idea to shove the kids in one room so he and Jaehyun could maybe have one full peaceful night. They need to make up for their mistake. Jaehyun is face-down in his pillow and this really isn't the time for a sleeping beauty act. Sangyeon shakes Jaehyun harder and flinches at the groan that rolls out of him. He can't believe this but he needs Jaehyun to actually wake up instead of successfully being left alone. "Shut up, what's wrong with you?" 

"What's wrong with you?" Jaehyun retorts as he peels his face from his pillow. His words slur together and his eyes squeeze themselves even more tightly shut when Sangyeon unlocks his phone. "There is no good reason for you to be bothering me right now." 

Sangyeon hands his phone to Jaehyun who rolls onto his back and glares through the diffusing beam from the screen. 

"Listen," Sangyeon whispers. "There's someone here."

Sangyeon waits and is vindicated by the convenient timing of another clatter from the kitchen. Jaehyun launches himself out of the bed and then hesitates at the door with his arms folded across his bare chest. He turns back to Sangyeon, brow furrowed and eyes wide. 

"What do we do?" Jaehyun whispers. There's a moment of desperate thought before, "The kids!" 

Sangyeon shushes Jaehyun and shuffles closer. "We'll go out together. There are two of us so at least we can scare the robber off."

Jaehyun considers it for a moment and nods. "You're right. They'll probably run as they see your ugly mug." He pauses for Sangyeon’s reaction that doesn't come and tries again. "Should we invite Jacob over? He's so precious that nobody would dare steal from him."

Sangyeon does laugh at that, a muffled exhale of air because Jaehyun is just typical even at a time like this. But someone else laughs too. The sound permeates the door and is followed by a softer voice which is enough to set Sangyeon on edge. 

They're evenly matched with the intruders (at the very least the situation is equal but Sangyeon doesn't want to jinx things and summon another intruder simply by counting their chances aloud). There isn't much they can do with certain success. 

"We've got to go out there," Sangyeon says quietly. "Something could happen to the kids. They might have already woken our babies up with that racket."

Jaehyun nods, silent acquiescence, and twists the doorknob to open the bedroom door. "You first. I'm practically naked and I am feeling a bit shy."

Sangyeon looks at Jaehyun and waits for realisation to hit. But Sangyeon doesn't have enough time to waste wondering what is wrong with Jaehyun that he wouldn't be shy about getting into bed barely clothed with someone who isn't quite a friend. 

Sangyeon keeps his scoffing about Jaehyun's sudden shyness to a minimum. He goes first into the dark unknown of the flat and doesn't make it five steps without stubbing his toe on the mysterious and still unopened box that was delivered to Jaehyun this morning. 

"You idiot! I can't do this, I think my whole foot is broken." Sangyeon crumples to the floor and clutches at his foot and wishes the pain would abate quicker if death won't welcome him into her embrace swiftly. 

Jaehyun manages to switch on the torch on Sangyeon’s phone but doesn't even bother apologising when the stark beam of light reveals what happened. He just stands over Sangyeon looking very unimpressed.

"Thank you so much, Sangyeon, for being so incredibly stealthy."

Sangyeon can't see much in the pool of light his phone has provided but he can make out that Jaehyun isn't quite careless enough to have left something that could be used as a weapon against him within reach. All Sangyeon has is his memory to arm himself. 

"We'll see how stealthy you are when I break your foot," Sangyeon warns. But when he tries to squint through the dark at the damage done to his foot he spots a rose glow just outside the torch beam. "Eric, how did you get out of the bedroom?" 

Eric, as is typical of the small pink blob, says nothing, but hops closer curiously. Jaehyun on the otherhand has always been a shade too vocal and doesn't hush himself too much as he scoops Eric into his arms. Eric enjoys being cuddled and held and wriggles happily in Jaehyun's grip and Sangyeon has about a second to think how cute the image is before Jaehyun's cooing and compliments for their brave and adventurous child attracts the very intruders Sangyeon had hoped to miraculously avoid. 

"Oh, did we wake you?" 

Sangyeon finds himself backing against Jaehyun's shins too quickly and he clutches the legs behind him in a desperate wish for security. Jaehyun struggles with Sangyeon’s phone for a moment, shining the light in Sangyeon's eyes enough that it must be intentional, before one of the intruders turns on the light switch. Sangyeon flinches against Jaehyun as they are doused in the light but curiosity is still thrumming down the back of his neck. He glances up to see the two intruders. 

Neither of the people standing in the hallway looks particularly bothered about the fact that they have been discovered. They are way too comfortable, stark naked in somebody else's home. 

Sangyeon scrambles to his feet though he wishes looking at these two unfamiliar faces was more comfortable than the alternative of a moment ago. One is around Sangyeon’s height, full lips pulled into a smile that borders on disarming, whilst the other is a shade taller, closer in height to Jaehyun but leaner, and regards them both curiously. 

Sangyeon prods Jaehyun, unsure what to make of this or whether it is even possible that the nude intruders leave without fuss and this whole incident can be left in the past. Jaehyun doesn't say a word. That is unfortunate. 

"What are you doing in our home?" Sangyeon asks. His voice wavers horribly but he isn't trying to fool anyone into taking him for a calm person. 

The intruders exchange a glance before advancing a step each. Equilibrium exists in how naturally Sangyeon and Jaehyun both retreat. 

"We're going to call the police," Sangyeon says with his hands spread to parry. He elbows Jaehyun and at least Jaehyun has enough sense to start fumbling with Sangyeon’s phone. His hands are trembling as he adjusts his grip on Eric. At least they can ascertain one of the kids is safe. Their only assurance of the others is hope. 

"I want you to leave right now. You can't come back here or else I won't be this reasonable. But if you leave now we won't take this any further." 

The intruders only look more confused by this. Sangyeon feels like he is going to start crying and that certainly wouldn't be a deterrent for the Intruders. 

"Jaehyun," Sangyeon hisses, "Are you calling them?" 

Jaehyun looks alarmed enough that Sangyeon can safely assume that the police are never going to be called if the task is up to Jaehyun. Sangyeon snatches his phone away and it is only then that he sees the unfortunate trembling of his own hands. 

"Are the police from the television coming?" The taller intruder asks. "Are the police from the television not terribly busy?" 

"The police from the television might not be busy," The other intruder says. "What we see on the television is not real-time so it must be the past." 

"Oh, that does make sense." The taller intruder smiles at Jaehyun and Sangyeon. "You can call the police. Should we go back to clean the kitchen for you so that it looks nice when they arrive?" 

"What? The police will come and arrest you!" Sangyeon says. "You're committing a crime! And you're naked!"

"What crime has been committed? Dad, we are not bad people! We are not criminals?" 

"Dad?" Jaehyun repeats. "I think we need more than just the police."

Jaehyun keeps muttering to himself but Sangyeon can't shake the feeling that he isn't seeing everything about the situation. Ignoring the fact that the two intruders are naked, and apparently uncaring of the fact that they are certainly doing something wrong, Sangyeon takes note of the shorter of the two with hair that has tones of a glossier red than the deep orange of the soft little alien blob who is most prone to mischief. The taller intruder has black hair which doesn't quite match the silver of the nominated eldest child but Sangyeon is looking for patterns here, not discrepancies. 

Sangyeon decides to test out his theory. "Sunwoo?" 

"Yes, dad, I am Sunwoo!" the alleged Sunwoo cries with open arms whilst approaching Sangyeon. 

"Stay there," Sangyeon says sharper than he means. "Sorry, but you're naked and I still don't quite believe you." 

"We are always naked." 

Sangyeon doesn't have a rebuttal. The statement is logically sound and even little Eric in Jaehyun's arms is obviously naked now. They hadn't bought any bespoke little alien outfits for the kids, though that seems like a very cute idea now. However two of the children possibly look very much like humanoids and they wouldn't fit in any such alien garments. 

"What do you think?" Sangyeon says. 

Jaehyun's eyes are wide and he shakes his head. "I don't think anything. What am I supposed to say?"

"Are these our kids?" 

"Are you? Sunwoo and Hwall?" 

Sangyeon’s sole test to see whether either of the intruders could correctly give the last name is no longer viable. But the two intruders are smiling at Jaehyun and he looks too startled to say anything as they shove past Sangyeon to embrace Jaehyun tightly between them. 

"Oh," Sangyeon says. "You really are our kids." 

Jaehyun scowls in the arms of the kids. "Stop it. Why are you hugging me? The first goal you have when you have arms shouldn't be to make your other dad sad."

"Do I look sad?" Sangyeon asks. Jaehyun doesn't answer that and instead gently pushes the two potential kids away whilst he keeps holding onto little Eric. 

"How did this happen?" 

"We have been practicing," humanoid Hwall says proudly.

"It was difficult to find those really tasty snacks every day but if we are like this we can eat those little hard things inside the television remote," humanoid Sunwoo notes. 

"You've been eating batteries?" Sangyeon asks right before being enveloped in the eager arms of the kids. 

"Probably," Sunwoo shrugs.

"Please stop eating batteries," Jaehyun says. "We'll buy you anything you want as long as you stop eating batteries."

For some terrible reason, the kids need a moment to consider that offer and Sangyeon is starting to dread the possibility that in human form the kids can get up to so much more mischief. 

Convincing Sunwoo and Hyunjun to wear clothes is more difficult than it should be, if only for the fact that Sangyeon offers up some of his clothes because they're within quick reach and Hyunjun and Sunwoo both scoff. Sangyeon excuses himself to sit on Jaehyun's bed and play with Eric who is a wonderful and obedient child who would never turn his nose up at his father's clothes. Maybe that is because Eric cannot talk. Maybe that is because Eric is apparently feeling left out and has turned into a bowl. No matter the reason, Sangyeon wishes Eric might stay precious and kind forever and ever. 

"Are you still sulking?" Jaehyun asks as he nudges the bedroom door open. He yawns and flops onto the bed with a dull groan. 

"I'm not sulking," Sangyeon says. "I'm just keeping the youngest company. Is it fair that the eldest two didn't let him join in practicing turning into people?" 

Jaehyun grins up at Sangyeon. "Is it fair that I alone had to tuck two of our children into your bed and then try to take all of the batteries out of everything I could think of and hide them in your shoes?" 

"Why did you hide them in my shoes?" Sangyeon asks. He can imagine where this is going but tomorrow he absolutely will not remember this and will have something else to complain about after treading on batteries. 

"Who would want to eat anything that has been inside your smelly shoes?" 

"My shoes don't smell. And before you say anything, my feet don't smell either."

Not happy to take Sangyeon’s word for anything, Jaehyun rolls up and leans over Sangyeon’s feet to get a whiff. He is frowning when he sits up. 

"You're so annoying," Jaehyun says, "Why can't you at least have smelly feet or something? I don't see what reason you have to go around being the perfect man for."

"I'm not perfect. Apparently my clothes are all terrible."

Jaehyun grins. "See. You really were sulking. The kids have been told that they shouldn't be so rude and they promised to be nice from now on. Does that make you feel better? They even said they felt cosy wrapped up in your weirdly giant clothes. They're like big babies even like this, all swaddled up warm. They fell asleep right away."

"That's funny," Sangyeon says. "It sounds like you just said that you put them to sleep in my clothes that they were complaining about."

Jaehyun shoves Sangyeon's shoulder and scoops Eric out of his arms. "Stop being stupid. I mean silly. Stop being silly. Eric, please don't ever use that other word I just said. It is a bad word that could hurt someone's feelings."

Eric, the pink bowl does not react. 

"Eric, can you turn into a cute baby again?" Jaehyun asks. Impressively enough, Eric obliges with a pop. Jaehyun hisses from the sting and squeezes Eric tightly. "That's better. You were very good to look after your dad tonight. He has had his feelings hurt lots and lots."

"Do the kids really think they made me sad?" Sangyeon asks. Jaehyun glances up and shrugs. 

"If they do they probably don't care. Children are like that, aren't they? They can't understand a feeling you have unless they've felt it themselves."

That sounds suspiciously intuitive and Sangyeon wonders who Jaehyun has been talking to in order to say things like this. But Sangyeon still isn't totally reassured. 

"I should tell them that nothing is wrong, just in case."

"They're sleeping, Sangyeon," Jaehyun says quietly. "Tell them in the morning. We should get back to sleep too. It's late. Or early. I'm tired and you look wrecked too."

Sangyeon really does feel like sulking. He has no idea what happened to him being the perfect man if Jaehyun is suddenly saying that he looks awful but he supposes that is just how Jaehyun is. 

Jaehyun's bed is cold when Sangyeon gets back under the covers and he thinks it might take him a while to fall asleep again but he is grateful that Jaehyun gets up to switch off the light. When he slips back into the bed Jaehyun leans over and presses a kiss to Sangyeon’s forehead. Sangyeon stays still until he hears Jaehyun do the same to Eric nestled between them and then sag into the bed. But no explanation comes. 

"What was that?" Sangyeon laughs. 

"Hm?" Jaehyun grunts. 

"You just kissed me." 

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did. You did this," Sangyeon says before demonstrating exactly what Jaehyun did. He leans across the bed, smooths stray hairs back from Jaehyun's forehead and then kisses him gently. 

"Oh. Did I do that?" Jaehyun asks. "Sorry, I must have miscounted the kids."

"How do you miscount one child?" 

Jaehyun makes a vague noise and then says, "Let's just go to sleep." 

Jaehyun does an extremely good impression of a person who has immediately fallen asleep and Sangyeon has no choice but to give up. He sighs and tries to do the same. Rubbing the kiss off his forehead can't hurt yet he doesn't manage to with Jaehyun grasping his hand and sleepily mumbling, "Keep it."

Sangyeon supposes he has no choice but to keep the kiss on his forehead. Squinting through the dark, he has no idea how Jaehyun even saw but he doesn't bother asking. It is late and he should know better than to keep them both awake with inane questions. 

So Sangyeon closes his eyes but he doesn't feel Jaehyun release his hand before sleep washes over him.


	7. Asleep

The morning after two of the babies had walked around looking human, Sangyeon is almost disappointed to find Sunwoo and Hwall back to normal. Sangyeon rescues the little blobs from the abundant swathes of his borrowed clothes and hugs each of them to his chest whilst assuring them that he wasn't really upset last night. 

The most response he gets is Sunwoo blinking slowly at him and Hwall noiselessly opening and closing his mouth. Before long they are both quietly opening and closing their mouths. They can make plenty of noise like this so Sangyeon supposes they must be silent intentionally. Maybe they're just chewing the air. Sangyeon scoops the kids up and carries them into the living room where Jaehyun is feeding Eric tiny spoonfuls of porridge. There is already another bowl of porridge on the sofa beside Jaehyun so Sangyeon can safely assume that is for him and the rest of the kids. 

"Did I imagine last night?" Sangyeon asks. 

"Absolutely."

"But my foot still hurts from kicking that stupid box of yours. The kids were people, right?" 

"Oh, that," Jaehyun says absently whilst tipping another spoonful of porridge into Eric's mouth. "That happened. I thought you meant something else."

"What did you think I was talking about?" Sangyeon asks. Jaehyun just blinks guilelessly as though he thinks he can get away with the same behaviour as the kids. Sangyeon elbows him. "Jaehyun!" 

"Nothing. I don't know what you're going on about half the time."

A stream of bubbles jets right into Jaehyun's face and as he grouchily waves them away, Eric is looking perfectly innocent despite a few smaller bubbles still floating out of his mouth. 

"You're right, Eric," Sangyeon says proudly whilst spooning porridge onto Hwall's expectant mouth, "It is bad to not tell the truth. But I have the feeling that if it had been me you would have been spitting out porridge and not bubbles."

"You would have deserved it," Jaehyun grumbles. More bubbles follow the statement and Sangyeon could cry at how one of their babies is actually taking his side. 

Despite everything, this is a good start to the day. Even when Jaehyun retrieves the batteries he had stashed inside Sangyeon’s shoes and experimentally waves a battery in front of the kids. Jaehyun manages to dig the battery out of Sunwoo's mouth and then tells him off, on the verge of tears whilst trying to explain the dangers of battery explosions. None of the kids seem particularly upset by the ordeal and nobody even spits toothpaste in Sangyeon’s face when they all brush their teeth. 

Before leaving for work, Jaehyun kisses all of the kids on their foreheads and hesitates around an awkward wave at Sangyeon. He is a strange man and Sangyeon is glad that the kids probably agree as they dutifully listen to all the reasons that he is strange. 

As a reward for listening to Sangyeon’s minor complaints, Sangyeon lets the children choose what to watch on the television. He clicks through options on the remote control and watches to see what makes the kids hop around most excitedly. 

Last night, Sangyeon could have sworn the kids spoke. Today they are still the same kids as before so they must be able to behave the same. 

"Can you talk like this?" 

None of the babies talk. Hwall hops into Sangyeon’s lap and rolls sleepily over his thighs but that is about it. 

"Are we bad parents for letting the TV babysit you when we're at work?" 

The kids don't respond. Maybe the kids think Sangyeon and Jaehyun are good parents after all. Sangyeon decides that they are doing their best and doesn't feel guilty when he leaves the snoozing kids with snacks as he heads out to work for his own shift. 

The early shift at the chicken shop is nice on a weekday for the simple fact that footfall is quiet and he returns home before seven pm. However it is boring. The shift is boring and there is a booklet of deep-cleaning tasks that need to be done with no excuses for the tasks to go undone. All the same, Sangyeon hasn't even started what the supervisor marked him down for when Chaekyung arrives. 

"Somin asked about you," Chaekyung leads. Sangyeon sighs and throws away the scrap of till roll he had been doodling on. 

"No she didn't. Whatever you want, just ask. I don't need to suffer through another disastrous evening just to owe you a favour."

Chaekyung pulls a face. "She really did ask about you. It wasn't about a date though. It was about getting her hair done. Sorry."

Sangyeon’s eyes widen and Chaekyung just cautiously stands on the other side of the counter as though she hadn't said the most amazing thing yet. "Are you serious? She wants me to do her hair? How? Chaekyung, I could kiss you!" 

"It actually wasn't even me," Chaekyung laughs, relief seeping out through the curve of her mouth. "Somin saw what you did to Jinsol's hair and now she wants to see what you can do for her. I think her big friend started beefing with her regular hairdresser so she's on the market right now."

The chicken shop is quiet, so Sangyeon sees no problem with rushing around through the kitchen to the front of house for the sake of wrapping Chaekyung in a tight hug that makes her squeal. 

"I love you," Sangyeon says into her shoulder. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Let me give you her number," Chaekyung says as she wriggles her legs for Sangyeon to set her back down on the floor. "She doesn't read her DMs so she'll miss it if you try to arrange something that way."

Without asking, Chaekyung reaches for Sangyeon’s phone in his pocket and searches through her own phone contacts to find Somin's number to save to his phone. 

"Do you think it is cheeky to ask if she can tag me in a post or a story so everyone knows who did her hair?" 

Chaekyung laughs as she glances up at Sangyeon. "Do you think I would come here without demanding she does at least that much?" 

"Marry me."

Chaekyung laughs and returns Sangyeon’s phone. "Things are looking up for you these days, right? You have somewhere to live, and you are getting clients who will let you do their hair… What's next? How good can things get for you?" 

"I suppose nothing until I pass my course and then I can try to be a full-time hairdresser. I can't wait to quit this job."

"But if you quit I won't get to try to make you give me freebies," Chaekyung whines. 

"If I ever did give you freebies I would get the sack. That's theft," Sangyeon points out. He glances at the time on his phone and decides he is willing to compromise. "How about I take a break now and buy you lunch?" 

"Deal."

+

Jaehyun pulls a face when he sees that Sangyeon has brought home fried chicken. The kids hop eagerly around Sangyeon’s feet as he tries to get to the sofa, so it is good that they're happy, but seeing Jaehyun frown is strange. 

"I already started cooking," Jaehyun grumbles. 

"Will it keep?" 

Jaehyun sighs, annoyed, and Sunwoo hops over to him instead of bothering Sangyeon about the food. Warily, Jaehyun nudges Sunwoo away with his socked foot. "Whatever trick you're going to play can wait until after we've eaten."

Sunwoo rolls away listlessly and Jaehyun wipes his hands on a tea towel before bending to pick up the baby. 

It is cute, Sangyeon thinks as he watches the way Jaehyun smiles proudly down at their squirming sepia son. But Jaehyun's head whips up the moment after Sangyeon deposits the bags of takeout on the sofa. 

"Where are you going?" 

"I was just going to get changed before eating."

"I think you are fine like that. Just go and sit down and eat," Jaehyun insists. He takes a steady step closer and suspicion instantly rises up the back of Sangyeon’s neck. And he knows right then that he can't give Jaehyun warning by asking anything. Sangyeon makes a break for his room, rushing past Jaehyun and bursting through the door. His room is filled with sand. 

'Filled' might be overstating things but even a small trail of sand on the carpet is already more sand than Sangyeon would find acceptable. This is more than a small trail. Sangyeon’s eyes are following the route of a winding ridge of sand which grows wider the further it reaches into Sangyeon’s room. At the end of the path is a sack of sand with a sagging hole in the side. 

"I was going to clean it up but I was tired from work and then I had to cook," Jaehyun says weakly. Sangyeon takes a breath, not quite as calming as he would like it to be, and turns to face Jaehyun. Jaehyun takes a step back and clutches Sunwoo to his chest. "Don't look at me like that, please. I really was going to clean it up."

"I believe you," Sangyeon says. 

"Sangyeon, stop it! You can just sleep in my room anyway. What does this even matter?" 

"Was this in the box? Was it sand that nearly broke my foot yesterday?"

Jaehyun smiles and shoves Sangyeon’s shoulder playfully. Of course the expression is soon replaced with irritation. "Your foot is fine. Listen-" 

Sangyeon listens but Jaehyun doesn't say anything. He simply staggers into the doorframe, his arms loosening around Sunwoo, and Sangyeon doesn't quite manage to catch him from yet another funny turn. 

The fainting is getting a bit tiresome by now and Sangyeon isn't strong enough to drag Jaehyun's unconscious body around the flat at every moment. Sangyeon cradles Jaehyun against his chest. He seems to be breathing just fine and he doesn't feel especially hot or cold but Sangyeon isn't an expert on things like this. 

Jaehyun is probably fine but Sangyeon isn't fond of the thought of leaving him and anything happening. Not leaving Jaehyun becomes less of a choice by the time the smoke alarm cries out, shrill and insistent. The kids hop into Sangyeon’s bedroom and begin rolling through the sand but Sangyeon doesn't have the time to tell them off. 

Carefully as he can, Sangyeon lowers Jaehyun to the ground and tries to remember how to put someone into the recovery position. Considering the screaming of the smoke detector and the kids bouncing around obnoxiously, Sangyeon thinks he does a passable job before dashing into the kitchen. 

Luckily nothing in any of the pans has caught, though the soup on the hob is dangerously close to boiling down to nothing. It is the meat in the oven which is charred to brittle blackness and smoke billows out of the oven as he slides the tray out and dumps it in the sink. 

The ovengloves themselves aren't the best help when trying to waft away the smoke but eventually the stinging in the air disperses and there is one less thing to worry about. The next thing to do is get the kids fed. 

Once the kids are huddled on the sofa with a box of chicken, Sangyeon pounces. Sunwoo squeals for help but the other two babies are merrily munching on their chicken as Sangyeon carries him off to the bedroom where Jaehyun is lying unconscious. 

"I know you're hungry," Sangyeon tells Sunwoo very seriously as he closes the door behind him, "But I need you to do a very special job for me. Wake up your dad. If you can put him to sleep all the time you must be able to wake him up."

Sunwoo blinks slowly up at Sangyeon. But he can't pretend to be innocent when Sangyeon almost has very circumstantial evidence to prove he is right. 

"I know you're the culprit," Sangyeon says sternly, not that it gets much of a response. "Your parents need to be able to have serious conversations without you making Jaehyun unconscious all the time. We're not fighting. We just need to talk. And now your dad needs to eat after working hard all day. Wake him up, please."

Sunwoo does wriggle this time and Sangyeon avoids kicking through the sand trail as he plops Sunwoo onto the floor beside Jaehyun. Sunwoo shuffles closer to Jaehyun but he doesn't do anything useful. Instead he pops into a racoon and bounces on Jaehyun's head to give himself the momentum to reach the doorhandle and release himself into the flat. 

"Hey, Sunwoo, get back here!" 

Sunwoo, of course, does not listen. The mischievous racoon manages to scramble onto the sofa to gobble up some chicken before Sangyeon advances and gets too close. 

Eric blows a little stream of bubbles into the air just as Sunwoo slips away from Sangyeon’s reach. It feels like being mocked. "Don't encourage him," Sangyeon says. "Your dad is unconscious in the other room and I know it is Sunwoo's fault. I will be back to tell you off later." 

More bubbles float into Sangyeon’s face and that is an awful response. Sangyeon wants to know who raised these troublesome kids but the answer will disappoint him more than he would like. Trying to ignore the fact that he is a terrible parent, Sangyeon takes off after Sunwoo, picking up the lamp and the picture frames and the jar of loose change and batteries which the racoon knocks over with clear intent. 

"I mean it, Sunwoo, you'll be in so much trouble if you don't stop messing around!" 

In the doorway of Jaehyun’s bedroom, after yet another cycle around the living room, Sunwoo waits patiently with a chicken bone hanging out of his mouth. 

"That is so dangerous," Sangyeon grumbles as he crouches to pull the bone free. "Don't run around with things in your mouth. You could choke and nobody wants that for you."

The bone is unfortunately comfortable, wedged tightly between Sunwoo's little teeth. Sangyeon pulls and pulls and he even tries to pry Sunwoo's jaw open to no avail. 

"Sunwoo, give me the bone."

Sunwoo does not give Sangyeon the bone. 

+

"Nice of you to join us," Jaehyun hums around a chicken bone of his own. 

Sangyeon rubs his head as he sits up. Jaehyun is sitting cross-legged in the hallway, apparently deciding to eat his dinner where he could keep an eye on Sangyeon. 

"Are you alright?" Sangyeon asks. Jaehyun shrugs. 

"Are you?" 

"I suppose so. Did Sunwoo wake you up?" 

Jaehyun's mouth stops moving for a second but he doesn't waste too much time on the reaction. He quickly chews and swallows his mouthful before wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" 

"All your fainting spells. I think Sunwoo is doing it. Unless you finally went to get it checked out and you have a medical condition you should probably tell me about." 

"No. It isn't a medical condition," Jaehyun says. He calls Sunwoo over and offers a shred of chicken to thank him for being a good boy. "Is it you? Are you the reason I faint so often? Why are you doing that?" 

"Because he's naughty?" Sangyeon suggests. 

Jaehyun gasps and covers Sunwoo's little racoon ears. "How could you say that about one of our precious babies? You're naughty, how do you like that?" 

"It doesn't really bother me. I'm not a child."

Jaehyun sighs and cuddles Sunwoo close. "You're not naughty. You're a beautiful, wonderful boy. We love you very, very much, do you understand?" 

Whether Sunwoo does understand or not he doesn't react. He simply stares up at Jaehyun with glossy eyes. As racoons go, Sunwoo is lovely, but Sangyeon is also very suspicious of him. 

"It is definitely Sunwoo making you faint all the time. I'd just be careful if I were you."

Jaehyun shrugs and strokes Sunwoo carefully. "You should be careful too."

"That's ominous. Why?" 

"I don't know," Jaehyun says noncommittally. "It's not nice to hear though, is it?" 

Sangyeon laughs. "You're so annoying. I am saying it because you never know when Sunwoo is going to make you faint again."

Jaehyun shrugs. "I don't mind. Sunwoo must have his reasons."

Whatever Sunwoo's reasons, Sangyeon can't imagine what the reasons are. There are probably easier ways to get Jaehyun to stop talking, not that Sangyeon has managed to find the method out. He just sits in the doorway of Jaehyun’s room, back aching from lying in a strange position, and keeps his own mouth closed.


	8. Mistake

Sangyeon tries to convince himself that the kids really could look after themselves for one day. He doesn't believe it even after telling Jaehyun that nothing will go wrong. They won't even be gone for the entire day, just a few hours to stand in as Younghoon's exercise class he is pitching to his managers at the gym he works at. 

Younghoon is a good guy and Sangyeon needs the kids to be able to manage for just one day so that he can help out with this favour. He wants Younghoon's pitch to be a success and he is determined to help. Jaehyun seems far less determined to help, not giving any firm answers when asked if he was free and even today, he waits until Younghoon arrives before getting ready.

"You're going to record the class?" Jaehyun asks before disappearing to change out of his house clothes. 

"Let's give him ten minutes," Sangyeon suggests. 

"I hope he doesn't make us late," Younghoon notes as he checks his watch. Sangyeon fetches him a drink, a glass of that awful smoothie Jaehyun decided to accept another two jugs of from work, and asks how things have been for Younghoon. 

It is nice hearing that Younghoon has a new ambition and he wants to impress his employers at the gym. It feels like it has been so long since they caught up that Sangyeon is surprised over hearing that Younghoon has started going out on dates again. The details of why Younghoon stopped in the first place are lost to Sangyeon but he's hopeful that things will turn out well. 

Younghoon doesn't even get halfway through repeating his little announcement for Jaehyun's benefit before he is interrupted. 

Sangyeon somehow isn't surprised that Younghoon's reaction to Jaehyun telling him that he is in the home of a young couple in love is disbelief. Younghoon frowns slowly and looks between Sangyeon and Jaehyun and shakes his head. 

"You're not in love."

"Yes, we are!" Jaehyun insists. "How dare you question the feelings I have for the dearest person in my heart? The partner who will surely remain with me for the rest of my days! The man who I will claim for my own before any non-believer!" 

Jaehyun is really overdoing it. If anything it sounds like he is trying to convince Younghoon that they would never be romantically linked. Even if it is true this is simply proof that Jaehyun's plan is beyond stupid. 

"I don't get it," Younghoon says as he pulls a face at the khaki sludge Jaehyun claims is a healthy smoothie. "Why?" 

"What do you mean, 'why'? We are in love because we are in love. Do you want us to help you out or not?" 

"I want your help," Younghoon says. 

They finally manage to leave the flat and Sangyeon feels his heart twist with guilt. Of course Sangyeon and Jaehyun have left the kids home alone before because they have needed to get to work, but this time has Sangyeon wondering how the kids will cope without him. He doesn't know how he is supposed to cope without the kids. 

Younghoon drives them to the gym where they find Jacob, Juyeon and Chanhee. Sangyeon thinks it best to keep smalltalk light and vague but this is where he and Jaehyun differ. 

"Are you lost?" Jaehyun asks Chanhee. "This is the gym. This is where people exercise."

Chanhee rolls his eyes and folds his arms as he steps up to Jaehyun. "This is the foyer, Jaehyun, and the only exercise I can see is you running your mouth."

"Cute," Jaehyun says, very obviously unable to think of a comeback. Sangyeon pats Jaehyun's shoulder in commiseration. 

"Should we all try to play nice so we can support Younghoon properly?" 

"Yeah, fine," Jaehyun says, sullen. Chanhee's laugh has an oddly mocking tone to it but he has the decency to stop when Sangyeon turns a sterner look at him. 

"You too. Be nice, please."

"I'm always nice," Chanhee says brightly. "Ask anyone. Ask Jacob, he'll vouch for me."

Jacob looks nonplussed to be brought up, apparently after already having warmed up before the others arrived judging from the glistening of his skin, but he smiles. "Chanhee is very nice."

"See," Chanhee insists. 

Jaehyun glowers and sends Sangyeon a furtive look. Sangyeon shifts away from Jaehyun, tries to stand at a friendlier distance than the absolute proximity he has grown used to. 

"I am sure Jacob can vouch for Jaehyun being a nice person too," Sangyeon hints. Jaehyun doesn't look so pleased at that but a chortle erupts from Chanhee's mouth. Jacob smiles awkwardly. 

"Wouldn't you be a better judge of how nice Jaehyun is?" Jacob asks. "Seeing as you're his boyfriend and everything."

Chanhee's laugh turns to choking but several slaps on the back from Sangyeon sort that out. Chanhee splutters, "Boyfriend?" 

Sangyeon wants to react in the same way. He hadn't seen that coming. Jacob looks apprehensive as he says, "Was it a secret?" 

"No," Younghoon says on their behalf. He turns away from his quiet conversation with Juyeon and adds, "They told me before we came here. It sounds weird though, doesn't it?" 

"It's not that strange," Jaehyun grumbles. 

"Strange doesn't even come close. 'Impossible' is more like it," Chanhee says with his hand hovering before his mouth. "Do you even have a heart?" 

"Stop that," Sangyeon sighs before Jaehyun can retort. "He's a very caring person. Anyone would be lucky to have him as a boyfriend."

"Is that what you're calling this? Lucky?" Chanhee asks. Apparently he has no concept of 'nice' where Jaehyun is concerned. 

Unfortunately for Jaehyun's honour, they need to drop things because Younghoon is ready to begin. 

When Younghoon had announced his dreams of being a personal trainer, Sangyeon hadn't thought much of it. Younghoon was shy; not really the sort of person who would be the obvious choice to lead an exercise session. Juyeon fit that sort of role obviously as someone who adored showing off. Younghoon was just shy. Or so Sangyeon had thought before seeing what Younghoon was like when instructing everyone on the High Intensity Interval Training session he was pitching to his bosses. 

As proud of Younghoon as Sangyeon is, he finds that midway through the recorded interval training class is a terrible time to remember just how much he hates cardio. 

Drenched in sweat with his limbs feeling frighteningly numb, Sangyeon is glad when the class is over. Chanhee is being dragged around like a ragdoll so Sangyeon is glad he can claim to be better off than him, but he still thinks Younghoon chose a terrible time to reveal his sadistic side. 

Jaehyun fetches Sangyeon’s bottle of water and they both lean against each other to pretend they have some remaining composure. Jacob offers a tight-lipped smile, infuriatingly perfect and not at all worn out. 

"Are you guys alright?" 

"Fine," Jaehyun says despite having wheezed at Sangyeon about how knackered he was just a minute ago. 

"Great," Jacob says. "We're going out to eat if you want to join us. No pressure if you're busy."

Sangyeon isn't sure whether they are busy or not. He doesn't like leaving the kids alone for too long but they have left the kids unattended for far longer than this. Going home before everyone else would be a waste of this chance for Jaehyun to appeal to Jacob. 

"We'd love to come," Sangyeon decides. 

They end up going to a barbecue restaurant, the scent of grilling meat reviving Sangyeon as soon as the warm air invites him inside along with the others. 

"How come Changmin isn't here seeing as you even convinced Chanhee to exercise?" Jaehyun asks as he impatiently stirs through the bibimbap which Sangyeon had ordered. 

Juyeon is the one who answers instead of Younghoon, looking very concerned as he offers, "He's out with Kevin. I think Haknyeon is with them so it should be fine."

Chanhee laughs, almost sounds mocking, but Sangyeon feels distinctly as though he is missing something. 

"Haknyeon is looking after them? From what?" 

"From being on a date," Chanhee chortles. He maintains his cheer even when Juyeon pinches him but Sangyeon wonders how much of this is a joke. 

Jacob is smiling along with Chanhee so he doesn't seem to be worried about the possibility of a date. Because Jaehyun doesn't appreciate Sangyeon’s attempts at subtlety, he ignores the furtive glances sent his way. He just sighs and begins transferring pork belly from his plate to Sangyeon’s. 

"There. Are you happy now? Are you going to stop looking at me like that, or do I need to actually feed you too?" 

"That's not…" Sangyeon can't even finish his sentence. If Jaehyun isn't paying attention to what people are saying about Kevin then there isn't much that Sangyeon can do. 

"I thought Jacob and Younghoon were lying," Juyeon grins, "But you're cute together."

"I still think they're lying. Prove it. Kiss." Even if Chanhee is still smirking, his mirth doesn't reach his voice. 

"You can't just make people kiss," Jacob laughs. It is like he thinks he is doing them a favour but Chanhee and Juyeon have gleeful determination in their eyes. 

"Just a little one. We won't even look that much," Juyeon wheedles.

"You're shameless, what happened to Kevin?" Chanhee clucks. 

"He's on a date right now and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Just pretend Juyeon isn't here," Chanhee offers almost kindly. Of course it isn't kindness but it is easier to pretend that is the case when Younghoon quietly ponders how this would classify as a 'once in a lifetime opportunity'. 

It sounds like a valid question when Sangyeon knows he is about as convincing as a papier-mâche kettle when it comes to this relationship he is pretending to be in. And now it feels like he has something to prove even if Jaehyun has gone rigid beside Sangyeon. 

"I'm sorry," Sangyeon mutters under his breath. He'll find a way to make this up to Jaehyun. For now he slides his hand around to the nape of Jaehyun’s neck and draws him close. For a kiss. 

Sangyeon will find a proper way to apologise but Jaehyun is granite-solid enough that Sangyeon knows recompense won't be easy. This is simply the dry press of mouths, it barely even counts, but he and Jaehyun aren't in any position to be even miming intimacy so closely. 

A moment later the shock jolts Jaehyun's muscles into motion. The surprised parting of Jaehyun’s mouth is warm with the tentative moisture at the centre of his lips. Sangyeon pulls away. He can only hope that patting Jaehyun's back conveys his intention to make things up to him. 

Juyeon whistles whilst Chanhee pretends to retch. Sangyeon can't look at Jaehyun beyond the burning of his ears and his eyes meet Jacob's in the midst of his awkwardness. The expression on Jacob's face is difficult to read. Not quite a smile but not quite anything else either. 

+

Jaehyun, because he is a tiny bit kind, waits until they arrive home to ask, "Are you going to kiss me every time someone says they don't believe we're together?" 

Sangyeon hasn't even unlaced his trainers yet. He could stand up and leave the flat right now and never return. But Jaehyun is leaning against the front door which eliminates that possibility very quickly. 

"I'm so sorry," Sangyeon says. "I panicked. We should think of things to say when people question us. We can't act so suspiciously or Jacob probably won't believe it either."

"Yeah," Jaehyun says. He kicks his shoes off and doesn't say anything else as he heads into the flat. Sangyeon prolongs his time wallowing in humiliation by lining up their trainers neatly before going inside himself. 

"You kissed?" 

Sangyeon thinks it is lucky that he elected to have a heart attack rather than lashing out at the humanoid who appeared in the living room doorway. 

"What is all the screaming about?" Jaehyun asks as he peers out of the kitchen. 

"Nothing," Sangyeon says, fingers tensed for purchase against the wall as he feels his heart spasming inside his chest. He doesn't know how Hwall has the audacity to walk around like a person without any warning. But Hwall has the audacity to do a lot of things. 

"I heard you two talking. You kissed? Like on the television?" 

"No," Sangyeon says weakly. 

"Why are you listening to other people's conversations? Is this how we raised you?" Jaehyun asks. 

Hwall frowns. "You were talking really loudly. It is not possible for me to not hear you being loud. Sunwoo went out so he must not have heard but Eric is home so he must have heard everything too!" All of his pouting is making Sangyeon feel bad for the fact that Hwall is getting told off, but then Hwall asks, "Are you at least going to tell me what the music was like?" 

"What music?" 

"When you kissed," Hwall says, "Just like on the television."

"There wasn't any music."

"Oh. Did you do it wrong? Or does music only appear the first time you realise you are in love?" 

"There is never music," Sangyeon says. He isn't sure how many more questions he can answer when Jaehyun is standing in the kitchen doorway, uselessly gripping a tea towel in his hands. "There has never been music, Hwall. Even if Jaehyun and I were in love there wouldn't be any music."

"You are not in love?" Hwall apparently doesn't want to hear it from Sangyeon and turns to Jaehyun. Finally Jaehyun contributes. 

"It is just like Sangyeon said. We're not in love."

"But you are my parents," Hwall says, voice miniscule. "You are my parents, and you are Sunwoo's parents, and you are Eric's parents. How can you not be in love? Are you going to fight, like on the television, and make us choose who we live with?" 

"No," Sangyeon says, "that isn't what's happening, Hwallie."

"You are lying to me. You are going to ruin the family!" 

"No, Hwall—" 

Sangyeon’s chest aches, and not only because Hwall shoves him hard to get past and run to the door. There isn't much in the world worse than the fact Hwall has dashed out of the flat barefoot. Sangyeon needs to catch up, dashing out in pursuit of his (thankfully dressed) baby. Hwall shouldn't have been so quick, though Sangyeon suspects his own hesitance had slowed him down. It doesn't take long for Jaehyun to catch up. 

"I'm sorry for kissing you," Sangyeon tells Jaehyun when they are both keeled over after the chase. Jaehyun looks up at Sangyeon with a strange expression on his face and right now, when he is already attempting to stave off a stitch, probably isn't the best time for this but there are only more and more reasons to feel guilty about what happened. "Jacob was there and I panicked because I didn't want to mess up your weird…" 

"Why did you stop talking?" Jaehyun asks as he stands up straighter. He is still short of breath so Sangyeon doesn't think he will suddenly run away anytime soon. Sangyeon’s realisation about what he should actually be apologising for is almost as sobering than the fact his carelessness is to blame for Hwall running away. 

"I messed it up already, didn't I?" Sangyeon asks. "Even Jacob is going to feel weird about getting with a friend's ex. Telling him and showing him that we're together are two different things. I really am sorry, I wasn't being smart. You could dump me. Tell everyone whatever you want, just make sure that Jacob thinks I am to blame."

Jaehyun's silence is strange. Sangyeon waits but the longer he waits, the less out of breath he feels and each moment they aren't looking for Hwall is wasted. 

"We should keep looking for the kids," Sangyeon says as he points in the direction of some shrubbery separating the alleyway from an unkempt patch of land. "This looks promising, right?" 

"Why do you want to take the blame for us breaking up?" 

Sangyeon’s shoes scuff on the ground as he turns. He's still too tired. He had considered himself relatively fit but the panic of losing two children must be constricting his chest horribly. Bad parenting doesn't explain the lack of fitness earlier though. 

"You should look as good as possible. If you tell people I cheated then there probably won't as much weirdness, right?" 

Jaehyun shakes his head. "You wouldn't do that to me though."

"I wouldn't," Sangyeon agrees as he starts climbing through the shrubs, "But this isn't about what I would actually do. I just want you to look good. I want you to be with the person that you like."

"Thank you," Jaehyun says. He doesn't look much like he is going to follow. "I think I'm getting there."

"Good," Sangyeon says. The sooner Jaehyun wins over Jacob, the sooner Sangyeon will be forced to find how he is supposed to fit into Jaehyun's life. 

Co-parenting is fun but it can't last forever. Maybe Jacob will move back in with Jaehyun and take over parenting duties. Sangyeon has only just got back on track but he supposes a return to sofa-surfing won't be so bad. He can find somewhere to live eventually. Hopefully the next place won't be so fraught with tension that he doesn't understand. 

Although moving out would be for the best, Sangyeon wonders whether he would be allowed to visit. He doesn't want to live a life without the kids but if he is only allowed a few hours here and there he won't begrudge Jaehyun. Encroaching on the space and time of a happy couple would be rude so Sangyeon can't expect to be allowed to come over whenever he pleases. Sangyeon understands boundaries. As soon as he finds Hwall, he will fill his phone storage with photographs. Preparations for the imminent separation need to be made quickly. 

As urgent as finding Hwall is, disappointment curdles in Sangyeon’s chest when Jaehyun calls over to him from the other side of the overgrown grass. 

"Sunwoo, stop wriggling away and say hello to your dad," Jaehyun clucks as he struggles with the squirming baby ball who refuses to stay in his arms. Dirt is smeared on Sunwoo from where he was nestled amongst the bushes and he chirps eagerly when Sangyeon strokes him carefully. The touch doesn't soothe Sunwoo and he continues his endeavour to leap out of Jaehyun’s arms to avoid the question of how he ended up here. 

Sangyeon eventually realises that Sunwoo's uncharacteristic aversion to Jaehyun hasn't come from nowhere. A rustling in the bushes draws Sangyeon’s attention and he crouches and extracts Hwall from the midst of some stinging nettles. The burning in his fingers is worth it when he has Hwall cradled against his chest, though feeling Hwall trembling so hard is unsettling. 

"Let's swap," Sangyeon says. He and Jaehyun swap kids and both little aliens calm down. Sangyeon holds Sunwoo tighter and leans in to kiss Hwall on the head. "Please don't run away again." 

"That goes for you too," Jaehyun says, almost stern as he reaches to pat Sunwoo. He frowns and sticks his finger into Sunwoo's mouth to pull out a battery. "If you have swallowed any batteries I am going to kill you."

"He won't kill you," Sangyeon says gently whilst swatting Jaehyun away. "The batteries are dangerous. Find a better snack." 

Sunwoo chirps but that doesn't feel particularly like agreement. 

Jaehyun sighs, "Kids, can you stop causing trouble? No more eating dangerous things, or running away? We love you, babies. We love you so much, and we just want you to be happy and healthy. Your dad and I will always love you and nothing is going to stop us from being your family."

Sangyeon glances up at Jaehyun, feeling oddly guilty over something he had considered not too long ago. He doesn't want to lose this, even though time is running out. He will lose whatever claim he has to Jaehyun's time but when Jaehyun meets his gaze it feels like a promise. They will still have this, the love for their kids, and the determination to protect these babies from everything, and it won't matter even if someone else is there to take Sangyeon’s place. 

Jaehyun raises his eyebrows and Sangyeon belatedly realises that he needs to say something too. 

"The TV isn't always correct," Sangyeon tells the babies. "Kissing isn't the most important part of love. We love you more than anything else. The three of you are all that matters and that love is the most special love of all." 

The kids say nothing, of course, because they never do, but they don't need to say anything. They go home and say it all again to Eric and things might be alright. 


	9. Confession

It is a lucky thing that Jaehyun thinks to text Sangyeon ahead of his arrival. Apparently he bumped into Jacob by chance and it only seemed right to grab a few drinks and come back to their old home for afters. 

Sangyeon has the kids bathed, gummy mouths brushed, and settled in his room for the night with all the little toys he could find before Jaehyun and his guest arrive. In light of the impending arrival, getting annoyed seems pointless. Of course Jaehyun wants to catch up with his friend, the man he has been struggling to entice out on dates as per the plan he set out before. It is only fair and Sangyeon shouldn't complain considering the fact he has taken plenty of evenings off on his own and left Jaehyun to keep the kids happy. 

Already merry, Jacob greets Sangyeon with a tight hug and it is nice to be invited to sit with the two of them in the living room as they reminisce about old times. Sangyeon nurses his own beer quietly, too tired to really laugh along, and he is grateful for the chance to stretch out and rest his eyes when Jaehyun crouches on the floor in front of Jacob to demonstrate some of the secret-handshakes they devised over the years. It's cute. Only Sangyeon must end up dozing off at some point because he wakes up when the room is quieter. 

Sangyeon turns his head further away from the glare of the light and thinks he might be fine in the morning if he just sleeps here in the living room. He knows he'll be too stiff and he'll wake up with ever-tightening aches in his back, but his body is too heavy to move and his bed is too far away to bother making the effort. 

Sangyeon isn't entirely sure how long he has been snoozing by the time he hears the change in Jaehyun's tone.

"Jacob, there's something I need to tell you."

Sangyeon probably shouldn't have been lazy. He should have left for bed when he had the chance. Instead he isn't deep enough in sleep to ignore a conversation which should be private. Being awake feels so obvious but no matter how awkward he feels he doesn't want to draw attention to himself and have more to explain later. It doesn't sound as though Jacob is too bothered whether Sangyeon is awake or asleep. Or the distinction hasn't occurred to him. 

"You can tell me anything," Jacob says, soft, kind. "Whatever you want to say isn't a big deal."

Jaehyun clears his throat and whatever his hesitation is over must be sticking in his mouth faster than any amount of beer could rinse away. Hopefully, the news Jaehyun intends to share isn't as big a deal as revealing the location of extraterrestrial children. 

"It has been strange since you moved out," Jaehyun says as he places his can on the floor, deliberate and careful. 

"Sometimes I go the wrong way home from work and almost end up coming here. Even though it has been a few months, I still can't totally shake off the routine of living here. That isn't to say I'm not happy living with Kevin now."

Jaehyun sighs, irritation sharp on his breath and Sangyeon has never heard his roommate this close to losing patience with Jacob. It must be the alcohol and the late hour of the night mingling with the lack of sleep Jaehyun is subjecting himself to by keeping a rigid schedule of checking on the kids each night. Sangyeon is surprised that Jaehyun hadn't excused himself several times to monitor their children tonight but Sangyeon may simply have dozed right through it and woken enough to hear something far less familiar than routine. 

"You know I don't want you to say that you're unhappy living with Kevin," Jaehyun says, his words more adept at masking his mood than the nonverbal cues that even a sleeping interloper could detect. "You moving out was good for both of us. You were right."

Jacob chuckles quietly. "Am I dreaming? How often does anyone get to hear you say that?" 

"That's the only time you're going to hear it," Jaehyun says. "Think of poor Sangyeon. He's never going to hear it from me in his entire life."

Jacob's laugh peters to nothing but a tired exhale. "Is it callous of me to say that I should have seen it coming? You and him being together?" 

Sangyeon definitely should have left already but there is nothing for it now. He simply has the option of hoping for some divine intervention to allow him to escape. Instead Jaehyun just makes another irate sound. 

"He's not a replacement for you."

"Well—" 

"Alright," Jaehyun interrupts. "He's living in your room and paying your half of the rent and bills. But aside from that he's not a replacement for you. Not really."

"The first time when I came here with Kevin, was he a replacement then?" 

Sangyeon feels heat prickling in his ears and across the back of his neck. Being spoken about like this isn't the kindest of fates but Sangyeon feels like he is learning a lesson. He shouldn't be so lazy. He should make the effort to fall asleep in a bed after wishing the children goodnight. He shouldn't drop off wherever he finds himself and hope not to be discovered. 

Next time, he'll know better than this. 

Next time, Sangyeon won't need to hear the contemplative candour on Jaehyun's lips. "No. But if I'm being honest we weren't really sleeping together back then. I just said it for a reaction. It would have been nice for you to have regretted missing your chance with me. But you didn't care."

"It's not that I didn't care," Jacob says, slowly enough that Sangyeon suspects he's having trouble giving the words life at all. "I didn't have the right to have an opinion about it. Even if I thought it was sudden, or strange, or a lie, I couldn't say anything about it. You're my friends so I have to be supportive. But now you've just made it weird. Why did you lie about it?" 

"Are you listening?" Jaehyun asks, harshly enough that Sangyeon supposes he must have been discovered. But he doesn't have the time to gather himself from the stilting of his heart before Jaehyun is speaking again. "I wanted a reaction. I didn't get the reaction I wanted, and even though it took a few weeks, I realised that it didn't really matter anyway. So now I'm not sure that I could have gotten over you if I hadn't told that lie."

There's a pause and Sangyeon daren't breathe, not when the blood rushing through his body is so painfully loud as it gathers against his eardrums, panicked. 

And then, quiet, Jacob says, "You're over me?" 

"Don't say it like that, like you haven't been begging me to get over you all along. You went out of your way to avoid me when you realised that I liked you and you even moved out just to get away from me. Don't bother with that excuse about poor Kevin not having anywhere to live, he has other friends who offered but you jumped in because you needed an escape. I'm not going to hold all that against you because we might not have been friends now if you hadn't, but don't go back on it all. You never wanted me, Jacob, you said it enough, and that's alright."

The weeks between Sangyeon suddenly not having anywhere to live and Jacob deciding to help out another friend had been strange. Sangyeon hadn't spent much time around Jaehyun because there was always somewhere else that Jaehyun needed to be. It was up to Jacob to reassure Sangyeon that Jaehyun didn't mind that they had a squatter, and they spent a lot of time together alone. 

Not spending much time with both Jacob and Jaehyun had put Sangyeon in something of an awkward position when Jacob announced his departure. By that point he was sure that Jacob was lying to him and Jaehyun really did hate him for temporarily moving in, but Jacob was determined to allay Sangyeon’s suspicions at the time. Sangyeon feels silly now for even thinking he was that important to bother anyone but, less than fledgling relief, he is wondering where he is supposed to go from here. Jacob knew all along that Jaehyun liked him, and Jaehyun knew that the feeling was never reciprocated and Sangyeon had awkwardly fit himself in the middle and chosen a side to support. His help hadn't mattered at all and Sangyeon wonders why expending effort feels so much like a betrayal. 

"I am glad," Jacob says, words that twist between Sangyeon's ribs and widen the area of ache. "But I don't think you should be making light of people's feelings like this."

"If you're hurt by getting what you want, I think you need to take out some time to reflect on yourself."

"Not me," Jacob says. "But what about your new roommate? I know you, Jaehyun. You're not good at seeing where you should stop pretending. Getting him involved in lies and schemes like this is one thing but there's something about you which draws people in too easily. What are you going to do when you've no more reason to lie but there's someone who still wants to be close to you?"

Sangyeon already regretted being here but he isn't sure quite what he has done to deserve this. No matter how hard he tries, he is certain his pretence of sleep isn't fooling anyone. His breaths aren't even enough and he can't remember how it is to sleep, though his failures in pretending in this second pale to the failure of the pretence he thought was a daily success. Whatever it is that Sangyeon has done for the universe to pay him back like this, he's going to work on becoming a person who is better than that fate. 

But even planning on avoiding future situations like this doesn't discount Sangyeon from having to live through this current one. 

"With all due respect," Jaehyun says insincerely, "You don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"Don't I?" Jacob asks. "Do you think Sangyeon is going to be able to switch off his feelings for you straight away?"

Sangyeon knows the answer but this is the sort of question he'd hoped Jaehyun wouldn't be asked. 

"Do you really think—" Jaehyun laughs, dry and short. "No. I'm not talking about this with you. You've had too much to drink so you're just saying stupid things. Just be glad that I'm not in love with you and be done with it. Are you staying the night? Have you told Kevin? I'll make up one of the beds for you."

Jaehyun's footsteps are swift but it is still too long before Sangyeon can hope to escape and mope around alone. He supposes it would only be polite to let Jacob have a bed so Sangyeon shouldn't complain about being left out on the sofa like this. 

The wait feels dreadfully long when Sangyeon hears Jacob ask, "What are you going to do if he has no intention of being with you?" 

Sangyeon isn't sure. He hadn't considered it to be too much of an issue. He'd just get over it and wait for any residual awkwardness to pass. 

Relief arrives when Jaehyun finishes thumping around through the hallway and his bedroom. He points Jacob in the direction of the bathroom and says he has even set out something for Jacob to sleep in. Sangyeon keeps pretending to sleep whilst Jaehyun starts the washing machine and tidies around the living room, sorting out the cans for recycling. And by then Jacob is done and bids them good night. 

Jaehyun sits on the edge of the sofa and gently shakes Sangyeon’s shoulder. "Get up. You're going to be a right pain in the morning if you don't sleep in a real bed."

"Don't you mean I'll be in pain?" Sangyeon yawns. 

"Maybe, but you'll complain about it to me. I'm right too. Come on, up."

Sangyeon lets Jaehyun drag him up but they don't get as far as Sangyeon’s bedroom. 

"How are you going to explain us sleeping in the same room?" Sangyeon asks. 

"Does it matter?" Jaehyun asks. He tightens his grip around Sangyeon’s wrist and pulls him into the bedroom. As soon as the door closes behind them Jaehyun is stern in as quiet a voice as he can manage. "Why are you still awake? You should have been sleeping and waiting for us to come back!"

Sangyeon flops down onto the bed and pulls Eric against his chest. He's just tired enough not to mind Sunwoo bouncing on his stomach. Things could be worse. Sunwoo could have chosen a sharper form than the rotund dumpling shape that the kids all arrived in. 

"Hey," Jaehyun says, shooing Sunwoo away. "Leave your father alone. He's here to sleep."

"It's alright," Sangyeon says as he waves Sunwoo over. For a moment Sangyeon wonders how he can stop Jaehyun from coming closer, from adding to a pretence which no longer matters, but he can't say anything. Jaehyun has Hwall in his arms and sits on the bed beside him. 

"Are you going to get changed?" Jaehyun asks, "Or at least brush your teeth and wash up?" 

Sangyeon sighs. "No. I mean, I'm getting up. You could have left me out there though."

Jaehyun pushes his fingers through Sangyeon’s hair. "No way. The kids would miss you too much. I'd miss you too."

Sangyeon takes that as his cue to get out of bed. He drops Eric on the mattress and pretends to be surprised that he is being followed to the bathroom. 

Brushing his teeth proves to be difficult with the guileless gaze of little Eric staring up at him. Sangyeon spits toothpaste into the sink and sighs. "Listen, your dad has been drinking too much. He doesn't know what he's saying," Sangyeon says. "Don't look at me like I did anything bad by walking away. How could he miss me? That's just silliness."

Eric doesn't respond, as expected, and remains quiet enough that Sangyeon almost forgets to take him back to the bedroom. 

Jaehyun hurriedly tells the kids on the bed with him to hush but Sangyeon isn't really in the mood to tell anyone off for having secrets. He simply wants to sleep. That's why Sangyeon is so annoyed when the five of them are settled in bed (Sangyeon and Jaehyun at the extreme edges of the mattress while the children huddle cosily in between them) and Jaehyun says, "I know you heard my conversation with Jacob earlier."

Sangyeon sighs, hopes that answering quickly will end this quickly so that he can go to sleep at last. Whatever Sangyeon has done to end up here, he's learnt his lesson. 

"Yes," Sangyeon says, "I heard."

There's a pause before Jaehyun says, "So. What do you think?" 

"Jacob didn't take the news as well as I thought he would. Maybe he isn't involved with Kevin after all."

"What? No, not that part. The other part."

Maybe Sangyeon was asleep because, as far as he can recall, there wasn't another part. He sits up and tries not to jostle the kids too much. He switches on the bedside lamp and is disappointed to find that Jaehyun is alert. It would have been a small consolation to see him squinting away from the light but there will likely be a next time for that. For now Sangyeon wants to put an end to this so he can sleep and wake up as a good and lucky man. 

"What other part, Jaehyun?" 

Jaehyun hesitates but he sits up too. He idly reaches out his arm for Sunwoo and smiles at the way the sepia sphere purrs quietly. He looks at Sangyeon, steeled and ready for some disappointment or other. "Does it seem like I am making light of your feelings?" 

Sangyeon wants to laugh. Whatever Jaehyun is doing, it isn't intentional. No matter how Sangyeon is starting to muddle the boundaries between their real lives and the roles they fell into for the sake of their kids, Jaehyun hasn't been careless about anything.

"No."

"Okay. So you know that I totally respect you and your feelings, right?" 

Sangyeon wants to roll his eyes. There isn't any evidence for or against this point. Nothing quite so compelling as the knowledge that Sangyeon is complicating the situation all on his own. Jacob is right; Jaehyun draws people in too easily and Sangyeon can't even blame him for being the kind of person who people fall in like with too easily. 

"Yes, you are the most respectful person I know." Jaehyun doesn't look too happy to hear that and Sangyeon supposes this wasn't quite the time for his voice to fall flatter than he intended. "Sorry. That wasn't supposed to sound so sarcastic."

"Right," Jaehyun says, stiffly. "Do you respect my feelings?" 

Sangyeon doesn't really like the sound of that question. It isn't the sort of question which needs to be asked. If a person asks a question like that it can surely only indicate that the answer wouldn't be 'yes'. But Sangyeon isn't sure what he would have done to warrant the question. He can only be delicate about his response even though every word might be the wrong one. 

"I do. I mean, I think I do. You have to tell me if I am wrong."

Jaehyun sighs. "Maybe this isn't something we should get into right now."

"Okay," Sangyeon says. He gets it. They're sharing a bed and they're raising three children and they have a guest who will still be around in the morning. 

Sangyeon switches off the lamp and lies down, careful not to shuffle the kids out of wherever they have deemed the most comfortable. He closes his eyes and wonders just how long he will be attempting to chip away at wakefulness before he can finally sleep. And then there is something he wouldn't have been able to block from his ears if he had tried. 

"Anyway, Sangyeon, I like you."

Jaehyun is very noisy about pulling the covers over his head. 

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it now," Sangyeon says, the darkness hushing his voice. 

"I don't. Goodnight."

Sangyeon stares into the vague nothingness of his bedroom and wonders why Jaehyun would say something like that. 


End file.
